Till The End Of All
by CyberDracomon
Summary: A 26 chapter Takari epic that will send them to every side of the Digiworld and face challenges more dangerous than any Digimon. Now up: Chapter 16 - Peril
1. Advice

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon, King of Takari  
  
Chapter 1 of 26 - Advice  
  
(Author's Note: At long last... the fog has lifted... the earth has shifted... and the King of Takari has returned to dust off his crown and take his spot on the thrown! I've been gone a long time, longer than I intended, but the wait has been well worth it. Welcome to my biggest fic ever, my own Digimon fanfic epic. This will span every aspect I've ever used and some I haven't, I've been planning this fic quite a while and in great detail, so you won't be disappointed. This will be my only author's note as I want the chapters as solid as possible, but I will warn you of anything special you need to know. So, with all that said, please read, review, and most importantly enjoy!)  
  
TK stood in the seclusion of the city park, facing the park's crystal blue lake that shined in the midday sun. He could feel the heat of the sun and the smell of the water in every breath, taking it all in as he waited. It had been a month since he completed high school, right along side Kari during graduation. At 18 years old TK had grown into a handsome young adult, tall for his age but still a kid at heart. He would have been the most popular guy in the school with girls had it not been for one detail.  
  
"Kari, where are you?" He whispered to himself, looking down at the clock on his Digivice. He had called her over an hour ago to meet her here, but she had yet to show. The two had been dating through almost all of high school and everyone knew it. They were always together, no matter what. If TK was playing in a basketball game, Kari would be one of the cheerleaders, if Kari had photography projects, TK would be the one doing the posing. The two were rarely seen apart and were the obvious choices for prom king and queen. Those days were mere months behind them, but TK was still wondering what was left for the two now that school was no longer an obstacle...  
  
"Hey, TK!" He heard behind him. TK replaced his Digivice and turned to face the voice he knew all too well, seeing Kari walking up the path to the lake. "Sorry I'm late, somehow Tai lost his D-Terminal again." Somehow TK wasn't surprised, every time Kari was late it was usually something Tai had misplaced. As soon as she was close enough, TK put his arms around Kari's waist and embraced her, getting a surprised giggle from the girl, who quickly returned it. In the past few years Kari had grown into one of the prettiest girls in Odaiba, and luckily for her she, too, grew a bit or she wouldn't have been able to return TK's embrace.  
  
"I don't mind, as long as you got here at all." TK replied, letting go of her most of the way, keeping his hands on hers. TK tried his best to let go completely, but he never managed to do it.  
  
"So why did you want to meet here?" Kari asked. "You didn't tell me what you wanted over the phone." TK smiled, glad she hadn't guessed his intentions.  
  
"I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out tomorrow." He asked. "If you don't have anything planned, that is." Kari giggled a bit, slightly confused. It was unusual for TK to bring her out somewhere just to ask for a date.  
  
"You could have just called me for that, you know." Kari said. It was the reaction TK expected, over the years TK could predict Kari better than any psychic.  
  
"I know, but why ask over the phone when I can ask in person?" He replied with a smile across his face. "Besides, it doesn't feel right unless I can see your face when I ask." Kari smiled, making no attempt to hide the light blush that had formed across her face.  
  
"Well, I am free tomorrow..." Kari said. "All day date?" Kari knew TK just as well has he knew her. TK's favorite kind of date were the ones that went from noon to night, plenty of time to spend the day with his love.  
  
"You know me too well." TK joked. "I'm going to have to find something new to surprise you." Kari giggled a little, which was a good sign for TK. His last statement was a bluff, knowing Kari had seen it all from TK.  
  
"Alright, if that's possible by now." She said, knowing the fact for herself. "I'll see you at noon tomorrow then." Kari released TK's hands, much to his regret.  
  
"What, you're leaving already?" TK asked, surprised. "You just got here, you don't even have time to talk for a while?" Kari shook her head, obviously upset that she didn't.  
  
"Sorry, TK, but I promised Cody I'd help him with a science project." She explained. "It counts for a lot of his grade and he's having a lot of trouble with it. I'm sorry, but we've got plenty of time tomorrow, right?" TK nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get anymore time with Kari this day. That was how she was, though, in her mind everyone came before herself, one of her traits TK admired the most.  
  
"Maybe I should go, anyway." TK said. "My mom's going to worry if I stay gone for too long." TK felt a little strange saying that at 18 years old, but it was still true. Kari smiled, a slight gleaming appearing in her eyes that she always had when she smiled.  
  
"Then I guess we should both be going." Kari replied. She took a step closer, leaning in to press her lips to TK's in a tender, but fleeting kiss, lasting just long enough to send a jolt through TK's system. "I'll see you tomorrow!" With that Kari turned to leave, walking back up the path she came down.  
  
"Bye!" TK called to her as she walked away. He never did like using that word around Kari, always meaning they were parting for a length of time. He always got a sinking, empty feeling in his gut, a kind of loneliness setting into his heart, like it was missing something that made it whole, made it what it was. TK watched Kari walking away until she was out of view, but remained standing there, lost in his new feeling of sorrow. TK slowly turned and started for home, a mix of confusion and disappointment swirling in his mind... Maybe it was time for an experienced voice to guide him, someone that knew this feeling, someone of mature spirit and intelligent mind...  
  
**********  
  
"TK, the toilet's stopped up again!" Patamon shouted. It was the first think TK heard when he came through the door, making him laugh to himself. It wasn't the voice of experience he had hoped for, but his mom was gone and his brother was rarely around to answer his phone, leaving the hamster Digimon as his only outside opinion.  
  
"Patamon, you never use the bathroom, why worry about the toilet?" TK said. Patamon was a breed of Digimon that rarely produced any waste, always converting all his food into energy. With his Digivolution line he needed all the energy he could get. Patamon flew around the corner, stopping in midair just in front of TK.  
  
"Well I got bored so I looked for things to fix around the house..." Patamon said, a bit of worry in his voice. "When I was looking through the bathroom I knocked a bunch of things off the counter and somehow a roll of toilet paper got flushed..." TK couldn't help but laugh a little, it was something too crazy to happen to anyone but Patamon.  
  
"Well as long as it's not overflowing we can leave it to a pro." TK said. "There's some more important things right now, though." Patamon looked up at his partner, curious as to what was more important than a working toilet. TK walked across the room to a couch in front of the TV, sitting down to relax. Patamon flapped over and landed on the cushion beside him.  
  
"So what's wrong?" Patamon asked, a slightly worried tone to his voice. "If it's a problem, that is." TK wasn't sure on how to answer, he wasn't even sure what was wrong.  
  
"I don't know if I can explain it like that..." TK said, at a slight loss for words. "Patamon, have you ever had this feeling in you like there was a piece missing out of you?" The small Digimon just looked on in confusion, not a clue what TK was talking about.  
  
"Uh, no... I don't think so..." Patamon said, unsure of his own words. "Like when Apocalymon broke us up into data bits?" TK figured he would answer like that... He had to find some other way to get a point across...  
  
"No, it's different than that..." TK explained. "Like... I don't know... Like one of your favorite feelings was suddenly pulled out of you." Patamon still couldn't get a fix on where TK was going with this.  
  
"Like when I get too weak to stay Digivolved?" The little Digimon said. "I never like having that feeling pulled out of me." This was turning into a lost cause... TK was just realizing how little experience his companion had, too little to be of much help with this...  
  
"Sorry, Patamon, I don't really know how to explain it to you..." TK said in disappointment. Patamon hung his head a bit, letting his wings dangle from his head, upset that he couldn't help. TK figured he could at least give his friend one more shot, maybe something easier. "Patamon, do you know what love is?" Patamon perked up again at the change of questioning.  
  
"Just the kind I have for you." He replied. "But somehow I think you mean a different kind. Digimon don't normally mate, partially because we just get reborn, also because many times they aren't created with emotions like love. Usually they don't get any stronger than friendship, but there have been some that were capable of it." TK never knew this about Digimon before, it was an enlightening idea. No wonder Patamon had no experience with this problem.  
  
"And what about you, Patamon?" TK asked. "You're capable of loving me, are you capable of loving another Digimon?" Patamon wasn't sure how to answer, it would help if he knew what the answer was at least.  
  
"I never had a chance to find out." Patamon explained. "Between battles and protecting you didn't leave much time to become social." TK had to agree, they didn't do much else than that in the Digital World.  
  
"What about the female Digimon in our group?" TK said. "You knew Biyomon and Palmon a long time, neither one of them interested you?" TK had intentionally left out Gatomon, knowing she wasn't a Rookie Digimon and wasn't born with the other 7 Digimon. If Patamon had ever been interested in a female Digimon, it had to be one of the ones he was born with.  
  
"Nope, they were always just friends." Patamon said. "We haven't had to fight in a long time, though, maybe we'll get a chance to find out someday." TK smiled, glad that his partner had the chance to know how he felt when he was with Kari.  
  
"Well I still need someone who would know what I was talking about." TK pointed out. "Think Matt's anywhere near his phone?" Patamon shook his head, letting his wings flap around a bit.  
  
"Never is, you know that." Patamon answered. "Always on tour these days. Maybe it would be better to just go talk to Kari about it, if anyone would know it would be her." Patamon had a point, but somehow he wouldn't feel right asking Kari about such things... But if it was his only choice, he had to take it.  
  
"Good idea, Patamon." TK said, standing from his seat. "She went to Cody's to help him with a school project, but she might be home by now. Thanks, buddy." TK walked around the couch and over to the door, realizing he accidentally left it open. TK took hold of the handle to close it on his way out.  
  
"TK, hold it!" Patamon shouted. TK stopped with a foot already out the door, looking back into the apartment. "The plumber?" TK mentally kicked himself, he forgot the toilet accident Patamon created... He stepped back inside, this time shutting the door behind him, and over to the phone, conveniently with the phone book beside it. This would work to his advantage, anyway, waiting for the plumber should burn just enough time for Kari to get home.  
  
**********  
  
It was a couple of hours before TK was out the door and on his way to Kari's apartment. Luckily he had enough money saved to pay for the plumber's visit, though his mom would most likely repay him for it. Even luckier was that he didn't ask how a whole roll of toilet paper got flushed down the pipes, which would have been really hard to explain... TK had been walking for quite a while and was just yards from the apartment door now, standing on the open pathway on the apartment building the Kamiya family still called home. He had walked this path countless times, he knew it as well as the walkway of his own apartment, hew knew every stone and detail along the way, but was never this nervous or worried before. TK walked slowly until he was at the all too familiar door of the Kamiya home, raising a hand to ring the doorbell, but stopping. He still wasn't sure if this was the best idea... but regardless, it was the only idea he head. TK pushed the doorbell quickly before he could second thought the situation again, leaving him without an exit. TK stood for an eternal moment, anxiety coursing through his system. When the door finally opened, the teen was relieved immensely as he saw Tai behind the door instead of Kari.  
  
"Hey, TK." Tai greeted, obviously not surprised. It had hardly been the first time Tai answered the door for TK, even after he got his own apartment with his fiancé, Sora, visiting his little sister often. "Kari's over at Cody's right now, want me to tell her you came by?" TK's relief turned to disappointment that is one path had suddenly hit a road block... or maybe a new path had opened.  
  
"Nah, don't tell her I came by." TK said, confusing Tai easily. "Actually I could use your help, I'm in need of some experience." Tai wasn't sure what TK meant, but backed up, letting him inside. TK walked into the apartment, feeling a gust of cold air he always felt when entering. He walked through the home he knew as well as his own, taking his usual seat on the couch. Tai shut the door before walking over, sitting on the lounge chair beside the couch.  
  
"So what do you mean by experience?" Tai asked in curiosity. "After how much time you've spent in the digital world I'm surprised you need any more." TK had thought the same thing at one time, but the only thing he found challenge in these days was his relationship with Kari.  
  
"Well it's not advice on how to kill some rampaging Digimon." TK explained. He hesitated a moment, thinking out his next question "You and Sora went out a long time before moving in together, right?" Of course Tai nodded his head in response, the two had been seeing each other for the past six years. TK hesitated again, trying to continue.  
  
"You didn't come over just to ask that, I hope." Tai joked. TK smiled, too focused for a complete laugh. He was trying to figure out how to ask Tai in a way he's understand.  
  
"...does it ever go away?" TK asked. "I mean, that lonely feeling when she leaves?" Now Tai understood why TK was hesitating so much, his nerves had to be in knots.  
  
"Oh, so it's that kind of experience..." Tai said, now taking his turn to think through his next sentence. "Believe me, TK, I know that feeling hurts, but if it ever went away you'd be even more worried than you are now." He had a point, TK couldn't imagine not being upset when Kari left his side. If he ever wasn't upset it only meant the worst...  
  
"Yeah, I guess so..." TK said, a little quieter in tone. "But you live with your girlfriend now, at least it's easier for you." Tai had to give him that, he had to see Sora daily, which he didn't mind.  
  
"Kind of comes with the territory if you're engaged, TK." Tai joked. "It does help, I'll admit that." TK was considering other questions now, Tai's remarks sparked ideas he had held for a long time now...  
  
"Tai..." TK said, his voice now very unsure. "...I didn't come here to say this, but I might as well now..." Tai sat up in the chair, unsure how he was going to take whatever was coming next. "...Tai... I..." TK was so nervous it was embarrassing, but this had to be said sooner or later. "...I want to marry your sister... I want to propose to Kari..." Tai's eyes bulged a bit, falling back into the chair hard. He had joked about the topic because he figured TK wasn't thinking about such things, his original question should have been asked years ago if he was already that far. Tai took a second to catch his wind, which TK was happy about, giving him more time to prepare for Tai's next response.  
  
"You're serious about this?" Tai asked as soon as he recovered his senses. TK nodded, then reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small, purple velvet box he kept just in case the right time came up. He extended it out, letting Tai take it. He lifted the lid, revealing a gold ring, wide at the top to fit a fair-sized diamond surrounded by pink gemstones. To both sides of the gems, the ring had the crest of light engraved onto it. "TK, this had to cost a fortune..." TK again nodded, taking the ring back as Tai returned it to him.  
  
"My life's savings." He answered. "I was saving it for a dozen different reasons, seemed like I had a new use for it every year. When I started it I just wanted a video game, and until a year ago a car... But by then I had a feeling it would go toward this ring instead." Tai couldn't believe this was happening, he expected it somewhere down the road, but not nearly this soon.  
  
"TK..." Tai said, a much more serious, almost angry, tone his voice. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? You only got out of high school a month ago, you two are only eighteen! There's a lot more to life than school and marriage." This was the reaction TK had expected. Tai was 21 and only proposed to Sora a year ago, he knew it wouldn't go over well right away.  
  
"Yes, Tai, I've thought about all of that." TK said, just as seriously. "You know me, I wouldn't just do something so serious without thinking it through. I know we're young, and I know I'll be passing up a lot... But believe me, as much as I know I'd sacrifice, I know it would be worth it. You have no idea how much I love Kari... I want to be with her until the day I die, I can't imagine my life without her in it every day, without hearing her voice, feeling her hand in mine... I've known that for the past year, Tai, and I know it'll be true for the rest of my life." Tai had calmed down enough to listen to TK's words, many of which hit home. TK was wrong about not knowing, TK was describing how he felt about Sora almost to a tee. The almost was because Tai had taken two years to learn what the world had to offer before proposing to Sora. TK already knew a lot of that, and knew what was out there that he wouldn't get to experience, but didn't care, knowing it would be worth losing. It was something even Tai didn't do when he was just dating Sora.  
  
"TK..." Tai said, still with a serious tone. "I'll be honest with you, I don't approve of marriage so young..." TK lowered his head, trying not to look directly at Tai. "...but I do believe in true love. And if anyone I know has it, it's you and Kari." TK lifted his head again, amazed Tai had changed his tone so quickly. "If you really want to marry Kari, then you've got my best wishes." TK couldn't believe it, he was sure Tai wasn't going to approve.   
  
"Wait, you aren't going to lose it and throw me off the balcony?" TK joked. Tai chuckled a bit, shaking his head.  
  
"Well you know what you're getting yourself into." Tai responded. "But you'll be related to me, so if you mess up I'll have plenty of chances to pay you back." TK smiled a bit, though nervously.  
  
"Well I guess you know what you're getting yourself into, too." TK said. "You're going to be Matt's brother-in-law now." TK laughed to himself, leaving Tai a bit stunned from realization.  
  
"...is it too late to take that approval back?" Tai said, joking. The two laughed, both glad this had turned out the way it had. This was what TK knew was going to be the hardest part about proposing to Kari... At least he thought he did...  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 2 - Beloved  
  
One more message! Down here, you'll always find links, but special links. The main one that will always be here is to join my mailing list. Signing up will get you an e-mail alert from me when I post, be it a new chapter to this story or a new story completely, just like Author Alert but free from me. You might also find links to pictures here, those will be of Digimon appearing in the chapter. It will only include Digimon I created, ones that didn't appear in the show, or only appeared once, so Patamon won't be here. Just my way of improving your reading experience.  
  
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	2. Beloved

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 2 - Beloved  
  
The next day TK woke early, needing the time to get ready. This was normal for his all day dates, but this time he had to be perfect. With Tai's blessings out of the way, all he needed was the perfect moment with Kari to pop the question, and a little luck that she would accept. The teen was in the bathroom at 9:00 a.m. and didn't leave for an hour, ensuring every little detail was flawless. Patamon just flapped around, trying not to get in the way, but still close enough to try to figure out why he was going so overboard.  
  
"TK, it's just a date with Kari!" Patamon shouted, his usual line as TK was nearly finished with his preparations. "She's not going to notice every little detail that's out of place." TK was used to hearing Patamon say that every time he got ready for a date with Kari, but never could explain to him why he had to make sure every tiny detail was perfect. He wasn't worried about Kari getting upset over something out of place, rather he was worried of not being perfect enough for her.  
  
"You've got a lot to learn about dating, Patamon." TK joked while shuffling through shirts in his closet. He knew the one he had on was the one he was wearing, but just in case he wanted to have a second, last minute choice. It was a habit of his that even he was annoyed by.  
  
"TK, somehow I doubt I'm going to get much experience with girls around here." Patamon said, joking but somewhat upset at his own comment. He shook it off quickly, gliding over to the sofa to land and rest his wings while TK came out into the front room, brushing the few remaining wrinkles in his green button-up shirt.  
  
"So, how do I look, Patamon?" TK asked, the last pre-date tradition between the two, in which Patamon had his traditional answer.  
  
"Exactly the way you did two hours ago." Patamon replied. Over time it had become as much a joke as it was serious. "Just try to relax, Kari's not going to have fun if you're worried about presenting yourself the entire time." Patamon had a point, but it wasn't just that problem this time. Now it was waiting for the right moment to propose to Kari, which made him more nervous than anything he could imagine. He had thought this would be the easy part, but he was starting to chicken out before the date even started.  
  
"Relax, Patamon, she'll have a good time." TK said, trying to regain some composure. "We haven't had a bad date yet, I've got a record to maintain." Patamon could tell TK was trying to shake something off, but wasn't sure what... Probably just nervousness... Patamon looked around, his eyes passing a clock hanging on the wall, then did a double take, realizing the time.  
  
"TK, you better get going." Patamon said, pointing to the clock. "You don't have long to get over to Kari's apartment even if you drive there." TK glanced at the clock, realizing he was right. He let time get away from him and barely had enough time to get to her apartment.  
  
"Thanks, Patamon." TK said, making a quick jog to the door. "Wish me luck!" With that TK opened the door and quickly exited, closing it behind him. Patamon had a feeling something else was up, something TK hadn't told him... but he couldn't follow, it would wreck their date if they spotted him... Patamon was getting worried about his human partner, not knowing how to see what was wrong... Then an idea hit him.  
  
"Well, he did say I needed to learn about dating." Patamon said with a sly smile. "What better way than to watch a pro?" He stood from his seat on the couch, then jumped off, gliding over to the door. For the small Digimon just a door was a tricky task, and it took quite a bit to get it right. Patamon landed on the doorknob with his front feet, then leaned to the left, letting his weight turn the knob. A few flaps of his wings was enough to pull the door open. He let go, flipping in the air to return to an upright position, and walked through the crack in the door, not opening it enough to fly out. He then turned, flying up to the outside knob, grabbing onto it and flapping hard to pull it closed. Patamon landed to catch his breath, looking up at the obstacle he just cleared.  
  
"Sometimes I wish I could digivolve without TK..." He said, just now remembering he was basically human in Champion form. It was too late now, as his thoughts fell on where TK would actually go first... He went by car, meaning he'd never catch him at Kari's house, so he had to fly to wherever the two would go first... "I really hope they're walking... If this is their usual date, TK will take her to the movie theater first. That's my best bet." Patamon took to the air again, flying up over the railing of the apartment building and into the air, hoping a flying orange object in the sky wasn't too noticeable.  
  
**********  
  
For the small Digimon the flight to the movie theater was long, but thankfully uneventful. Patamon now found himself above the movie theater, flapping his wings to stay too high to be seen. He needed to find some way into the theater, but with no windows he couldn't sneak in and the only open doorway was the main one where the ticket booths were, meaning whoever was there would spot him...  
  
"Hmm... Maybe I can distract whoever's in the booth..." Patamon thought out loud. He glided over to get a better look at the booth itself, flying in just a little closer. They were in between movie showings apparently since there was no line so he didn't have to worry about getting seen. Looking around the area, Patamon noticed a thick wire exposed on the booth, leading into the building. It was short, though, since the booth was joined to the building. If it was what TK thought it was, he might have one shot... He again changed positions, this time to get a good angle at the cord. Patamon took aim, slowly charging his attack.  
  
"Boom Bubble!" Patamon fired the blast of air at the cord, hoping he was on target. Luckily he was, blasting the cord apart. Patamon watched as the lights in the booth blinked, then went black. This was just what he was hoping, if the next part came out right... He made one more move, this time to get a good angle at the main glass door of the building. It didn't take long for the guy running the booth to leave his post, starting to walk out. Patamon waited, watching him open the main door wide to let himself out. When he turned to check the cord, Patamon dived as fast as he could toward the door before it could shut, hoping the guy didn't notice. He flew past him and into the door just before it closed on his small tail, landing roughly onto the carpeted floor. He looked around, relieved there was nobody in the lobby, not even someone at the snack stand. Patamon stood up, moving carefully past the concession stand just in case someone was in it, and into a hallway across the room that lead to the various theaters. Looking at the number of hallways made Patamon realize the flaw in the plan...  
  
"I should have asked what movie he was going to..." Patamon said, worried. There had to be at least 20 theaters, the movie could be over b the time he went through them all... He only remembered a few recent movies the two had seen, not enough to limit his search at all...   
  
Just then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, but it went so fast by the time he looked for it, it was already gone... It wasn't human, though, too small and too fast... Finding TK might be a lost cause, but whatever that was had caught his curiosity. Taking the risk, Patamon took to the air, his flight faster than his sprint, gliding down the hall the thing had passed into. He looked down at the floor, watching the sides for any movement... After a minute he spotted a door closing and something just vanishing behind it.  
  
"Can't escape now..." Patamon said, gliding down. He landed, relieved the door wasn't the kind that closed on it's own, and walked in, immediately noticing how dark the room was except for a beam of light coming from a contraption near the far wall. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust before he could look around, seeing many flat cans laying around. He quickly pushed the door closed, making sure whatever it was wouldn't get away, then scanned the area, walking into the middle of the room for a better view. It took a few minutes to spot something moving, but it was too dark to make out any details. He watched the figure dart from hiding place to hiding place until it accidentally hit a stack of flat cans, burying itself in a pile of metal discs, creating a loud crash of steel hitting steel. Patamon was glad it had stopped, but felt bad it had hurt itself doing so. He walked over carefully, not sure what to expect, inching over to the pile of cans. Patamon took hold on one, feeling how heavy it was, then rolled it out of the way, ignoring the crash it made as it hit another stack of cans. Patamon looked on at the creature, his eyes not adjusted well enough to tell what it was, but he was relieved it wasn't trying to run anymore. When his eyes got used to the dark, Patamon let out a small gasp as he recognized the figure.  
  
"...Gatomon?" Patamon said, unsure of his guess. "Is that you?" The figure seemed to be as surprised as Patamon was. It crawled out of the cans, with Patamon backing up to give it room.  
  
"Yeah, it's me, Patamon." Gatomon admitted, relieving Patamon. "You scared me, I thought something was after me!" She was right, of course, just it wasn't a bad thing as she implied.  
  
"Sorry for scaring you." Patamon said, upset that he did it. "I was just curious about what was running around this place besides me." Gatomon smiled a bit, a detail Patamon could now make out in the darkness.  
  
"I thought cats were supposed to be the curious ones." She joked. "What are you doing here, anyway? You shouldn't be roaming around in public, especially without TK." He could make the same argument about her, but chose to guess what she was doing.  
  
"Well TK was going out with Kari tonight," Patamon explained. "but he looked nervous about something, so I followed him to see what it was. I'm guessing you're spying on Kari, right?" Gatomon looked surprised for a brief second before shaking it off.  
  
"Yeah, but it's not the first time for me." She said. "I've followed Kari out on a lot of dates, watching her and TK. Something about human romance just catches this cat's eye, I guess." Patamon had to admire Gatomon, remembering his conversation with TK from the previous day. He couldn't help but wonder if she was one of the lucky Digimon capable of love... He shook himself from his mental trance, now worried about TK again.  
  
"Do you know where they are now, then?" Patamon asked in hope. Gatomon smiled to him before turning and hopping up to a ledge or table, it was too hard to tell in the dark, then signaled for him to join her. Patamon flapped up to her, not sure what she was getting at, then noticed the ledge was in front of a small window into a large, dark room.  
  
"They're in there, watching the movie." Gatomon explained. "It takes a long time for even my eyes to adjust enough to see them, though." Patamon moved to the window, looking out and down at the crowd. She was right, though, he could barely tell there were even rows, let alone chairs and people in them. He'd never be able to spot TK in all of this black...  
  
"Shh, quiet!" Someone said. The two Digimon looked at the door, where the voice had come from, both in a slight panic. "I heard a crash in here a while ago, someone's gotta be inside..." Patamon couldn't believe this, his first time out and he was going to get busted.  
  
"Patamon, follow me, quick!" Gatomon whispered, jumping to the floor. Patamon wasn't one to argue with an expert and followed her to the ground and against the wall the door was beside. "When the door opens, run under them, if we're fast enough they won't see us." Patamon nodded, suddenly worried about his chances, running not being his strong suit. The door slowly opened, then two sets of human legs came in. Patamon watched as Gatomon somehow darted through them and into the hall without any detection. He followed right behind, trying to keep his wings tucked in. Just as he made it past the first human, his wings caught a draft from his running, throwing them open and batting them against the second human's legs. He tucked them back in tight and started running madly, hoping he didn't notice.  
  
"Hey, it's a pair of animals!" One of them shouted. "How did they get in here?!" Patamon mentally kicked himself for trying the same stunt a cat had pulled off...  
  
"Who cares, we gotta get'em out!" The other shouted. Patamon picked up his pace, now running beside Gatomon, in desperate hope she had an idea.  
  
"Get into the snack bar, quick!" She said quietly, darting ahead. He resisted an urge to fly up to catch up to her, knowing he'd be in even more trouble if the humans knew he wasn't a natural animal. Patamon ran so hard his feet were aching, but he managed to get to the bar just behind Gatomon and before the humans rounded the corner to see him do it.  
  
"So... what... now..." Patamon gasped quietly. He looked over to Gatomon, suddenly realizing she didn't look mad, just worried. Knowing her tempter he was relieved to say the least.  
  
"Now we wait for them to find us." Gatomon said. Patamon nearly jumped, suddenly doubting her experience at this spying business. "Relax, we can take care of them. Get onto the counter and keep hidden for now." Patamon couldn't help but worry about this, but did what he was told, flying up and hiding behind a large popcorn maker. He peeked out to see Gatomon grabbing a box from the counter, tearing it open with one of her claws. She walked over to the opening in the booth, looking around it at the two humans chasing them, who were still looking in every direction. Patamon looked up from the counter and watched the two hunting around until one turned to the counter.  
  
"There's that cat!" He yelled, running at the counter. Gatomon hurled the contents of the box to the ground, letting many round pieces of candy roll around. The human stepped onto them, slipping off his feet and landing on his back with a loud thud. Patamon looked down at him, noticing he was now unconscious. The other human ran at Gatomon, but she remained still, waiting for him to slip, as well. Patamon watched for the same event, only to see the candy only get crushed under his feet. He realized this human must be a lot heavier, but quickly turned to Gatomon, who was now running to the other side of the bar, a very panicked look on her face. The human reached the stand, blocking the exit. Gatomon reached the back of the stand and turned a corner, but quickly noticed the other direction blocked by a huge stack of boxes, probably extra candy to restock the concessions. The human knew she was blocked and slowly moved in, a rather evil smile across his face. Patamon looked around for any way of getting Gatomon out of this, finding nothing... Eventually his eyes fell onto a plunger of some kind with the spout of it pointing to the floor.  
  
"Here goes nothing..." Patamon said, jumping on top of the popcorn maker. Before the human noticed him, Patamon jumped as high as he could, landing onto the plunger, firing some weird yellow fluid at the ground. By luck it landed onto his shoes, making him lose his footing and fall to the ground, his head hitting first, knocking him out. Gatomon heard the thud and came out from the other side of the stand, looking at Patamon's work.  
  
"Let's go before one of them decides to wake up." Patamon said, jumping down to the other side of the counter. Gatomon remained wordless, jumping over the human to get to the exit of the bar to join Patamon, who was already eagerly heading for the exit.  
  
**********  
  
Half an hour later the two were still recovering from their escape, resting on the side of the building, in a back corner where they wouldn't be seen. Patamon wasn't sure what to think, he was still worried about TK, but after that whole ordeal he didn't know if he wanted to spy on the second half of the date...  
  
"So what now?" Patamon asked, hoping for an idea from Gatomon. "Do we actually want to risk that again?" Gatomon didn't answer at first, unsure of the answer herself.  
  
"Well I guess we kind of have to..." Gatomon said, a regretful tone in her voice. "We didn't exactly figure out much here, we didn't even see what movie they were watching." Patamon took a deep breath, composing himself before letting out a low sigh.  
  
"I'm sorry for messing up back there." Patamon admitted. "If I had played it smarter we wouldn't have had to go through all of that." Gatomon shook her head, trying to reassure him a little.  
  
"It happens, don't worry about it." Gatomon said. "Even I've got caught a few times thanks to my own bad moves. At least you know what to do next time, right?" Patamon hoped there wouldn't be a next time, but was sure there would be eventually.  
  
"I guess so..." Patamon replied. "Is the dinner part of the date any easier?" Gatomon nodded, much to Patamon's relief.  
  
"They usually go to a restaurant with a strange ceiling." She answered. "It's really good for hiding and if they're at the right table you can hear everything they say." Patamon was glad he'd get to do some actual spying now, and hopefully enough to figure out what was wrong with TK. "We could start ahead and get there before them, but if they go somewhere different we'll be in trouble." Patamon had to know what was wrong and didn't take a second to decide which he'd rather do.  
  
"Let's just wait and follow them." Patamon said. "Better to play it safe after everything that happened in there." Gatomon nodded, agreeing. The two moved to a better viewing spot, but still tried to stay out of view of the people leaving, many of which spoke about the incident they had caused. It took half an hour before TK and Kari walked out, thankfully unaware of the event in the lobby. The two were walking away from the parking lot, meaning TK hadn't driven the car to the movie theater. Gatomon started after them, taking as many hiding spots as she could. Patamon took to the air, watching them from above, hoping they didn't look up at the sky, which was now blue from the midday sun..  
  
**********  
  
The two Digimon had to wait longer than expected since TK and Kari spent a great deal of time in the park, walking and talking, but it was too public for either one to stay close enough to spy on them. The sun was going down by the time they reached the restaurant, where Gatomon left her hiding spots to climb a wall of the building that had been covered in ivy vines,, most likely as a design feature. Patamon flew down to meet her on the roof when she reached the top, both tired from the long chase.  
  
"To they always take that long in the park?" Patamon asked. "I never knew they could walk so much..." Gatomon took a minute to respond, too out of breath from the walk and climb.  
  
"Usually they never take that long in the park..." She finally explained. "TK must have been up to something, he kept looking around like he was trying to find something or was waiting for something." Patamon was sure whatever was wrong before was the cause of the strange behavior and was getting more worried by the second.  
  
"Alright, let's get inside." Patamon said, shaking off his exhaustion. "How do we get in?" Gatomon fought to shake off her own fatigue, then walked over to a small air duct, pulling the grating off of it.  
  
"This way." She said. "The ceiling hangs off of the frame of the roof and there's gaps in it for design, we take this duct and land right on top of it. Then we just look below and find them." This had to be easier than the movie theater... Patamon walked over, taking the initiative and stepping into the hole, finding it smooth and curved like a slide. Patamon leaned forward, sliding down the metal shaft until he came out the other end, landing smoothly on a large platform. He stepped forward so Gatomon wouldn't land on him, then looked over the side, seeing many tables below, some with people eating at them, others empty, and a couple with dishes waiting to be picked up. Patamon heard a slight thump behind him and looked back to see Gatomon now standing behind him.  
  
"Do you see them?" She asked quietly, eager to get started. Patamon shook his head in response before walking along the edge, keeping his eyes downward. Eventually he stopped, spotting a couple of familiar heads of hair just below him.  
  
"I think I just did." Patamon silently responded, motioning Gatomon over. The feline Digimon made her way to Patamon's side, looking down at the two, who were indeed TK and Kari.  
  
"They always take the same table if it's open." Gatomon explained. "We should hear them fairly well once they're talking." Patamon leaned down a little lower, trying to hear any conversation they were having through the other noise of the restaurant.  
  
"TK, is something wrong?" Kari asked to the boy across from her. Patamon stepped back, not aware of how well the sound carried from the table. "You haven't been talking as much as you usually do." Kari seemed to be picking up on the same things Patamon had before TK left, it must be more obvious than he thought.  
  
"No, not at all." TK replied, a very nervous tone to his voice. "I'm with you, what could be wrong?" Obvious was an understatement, now Patamon was just picking up on how strange he was acting.  
  
"I think you were right, Patamon..." Gatomon whispered. "He is acting strange. Was it like this all morning?" The orange Digimon nodded, hoping Kari would catch on and try to help out since he couldn't.  
  
"That's sweet, TK, but you've never been a good liar." Kari said. "You can tell me anything, TK, you know that. If something's wrong I want to help, whatever it is." Patamon was glad his partner had Kari to help him when he couldn't. It helped knowing it   
wasn't all up to him to take care of TK.  
  
"Seriously, it's nothing." TK replied, a lot more composed than last time. At least that's how it sounded. "Don't worry about it. You know I'd tell you if anything's wrong." Even if he was trying harder, it wasn't fooling Patamon. Maybe it was their bond as Digimon and partner, but he knew TK too well to not see through his act.  
  
"...If you insist." Kari said, giving in. Patamon was hoping she could see through it, as well. Maybe she did, but if TK wasn't going to tell her after all of that, no way he was telling anytime soon.  
  
"Come on, Gatomon." Patamon said, turning away and starting back to the air duct. Gatomon looked back at her companion, confused at his sudden change of mind.  
  
"Patamon, where are you going?" Gatomon said. "I thought you were worried about TK." Patamon nodded, still continuing to the exit.  
  
"If Kari can't get it out of him, I don't think he's going to tell just yet." He explained. "I've got an idea, just follow me." Patamon reached the air duct and jumped back in, flapping his wings to fly back to the opening. Gatomon couldn't tell what he was getting at, but followed anyway, her cat curiosity getting the best of her.  
  
**********  
  
The two Digimon were exhausted by the time the date was nearly over, following their humans around while keeping out of trouble was harder to manage than either of them had thought. Now they found themselves just around the corner from Kari's apartment door, where TK and Kari were now approaching. The two were waiting for the two to reach it before peeking around the corner, not wanting to risk getting seen.  
  
"You sure you want to do this?" Gatomon asked. "Even I never spied on the last part of their dates, it's too risky. Especially if we aren't there when they come back into their apartments." Patamon knew the risks as well as Gatomon did, especially since there was no way of him getting back to TK's room before he did.  
  
"I still don't know what's wrong with him, Gatomon, I can't just stop before I find out." Patamon responded. "He didn't say at the restaurant, maybe when they're alone he'll be able to." The feline Digimon had to admire the determination Patamon had, but questioned how smart he was being...  
  
"Sorry I wasn't better company tonight, Kari." They heard around the corner. Patamon slowly peeked around, careful not to expose too much of himself, and watched TK and Kari at the door to her apartment. Kari had her back to her door and TK was looking at her, so he probably wasn't in danger of getting caught. The two were also in a loose embrace, TK holding Kari at the waist and Kari holding him around the neck.  
  
"It's alright, we've had off nights before." Kari said, a slightly scheming smile appearing on her. "But you've gotta make it up to me. Say tomorrow in the park?" TK chuckled a bit, obviously knowing he just got reeled into another attempt. Gatomon was taking her chances now and looking at the two around the corner.  
  
"Alright, but let's bring Patamon and Gatomon, too." TK added. "It would be kind of unfair to leave them alone at home two days straight." The two spying Digimon quickly glanced at each other, both relieved there would be no need for spying tomorrow. Patamon didn't take long to realize how different TK sounded, like nothing was ever wrong in the first place...  
  
"Good idea." Kari said. "I'm sure Gatomon's been bored all day waiting here." Gatomon shook her head slightly, a gesture she almost wished Kari could see just to correct her.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow, then." TK added. The two smiled before leaning forward a bit, gently kissing each other goodnight. Patamon and Gatomon looked on in a great deal of confusion, never before having seen the action between the two. The confusion became curiosity, watching closer until the two separated, letting go of each other.  
  
"Goodnight, TK." Kari said, opening the door to her apartment. TK looked on as she stepped in, smiling the whole time.  
  
"Goodnight, Kari." He replied. She smiled back before shutting the door behind her, leaving TK there. He slowly turned to the stairs, thankfully away from the two Digimon spies, and walked away, back to his car to return home. Patamon and Gatomon took their eyes from the scene and back around the corner, not sure of what they just saw.  
  
"What in the Digiworld was that?" Patamon asked, hoping Gatomon had some clue. Unfortunately she just shook her head, with no positive answer to give.  
  
"It looked like they just pressed their lips together." Gatomon said. "What's the point of that?" Patamon didn't know how to answer, he didn't really see a point to it at all, either.  
  
"Maybe it's just some weird human quirk..." He said, wishing he had an actual answer. The action actually looked kind of gross, but that was probably because he didn't understand it.  
  
"...let's try it." Gatomon said suddenly. Patamon snapped his head in her direction, completely caught off guard by her suggestion.  
  
"You sure about that?" Patamon asked cautiously. "We don't even know what it's supposed to do, what if Digimon can't do it right?" He was worried about a lot more than that, but didn't have time to mention it all before Gatomon walked closer, putting little space between the two.  
  
"Well I don't exactly know any Digimon that have tried it so we have to find out somehow, right?" She said. "It's just an experiment, anyway, what could it hurt?" Patamon wished he could think of some way out of this, but knowing Gatomon, he knew he was stuck.  
  
"Alright, alright." Patamon agreed reluctantly. "How do we do it, though? Did you get a good look?" Gatomon hesitated before nodding slowly, not quite sure of her own notes.  
  
"Just pucker your lips, just a little..." Gatomon said, a sudden nervousness in her voice. "Let me take it from there." Patamon gulped, unsure of what to expect, but did as instructed. Gatomon stepped closer until only an inch separated them, then did the same before slowly putting her lips to Patamon's. The orange Digimon felt something in the center of his chest tighten, like a jolt of lightning just ran through his spine. He couldn't even describe the sensation, it was unreal... and for some reason he had the strangest instinct to close his eyes, which he nearly did, lowering his lids halfway before Gatomon suddenly broke from him, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open a little, obviously suffering the same reaction Patamon had. The two stood in silence, neither one moving or even blinking, both too dazed to do anything.  
  
"...What... was that?" Patamon finally said, but just barely managing to get it out. Gatomon blinked a few times, in vein attempt to regain some senses.  
  
"I... I wish I knew..." Gatomon said, not doing much better than Patamon at speaking. "...maybe you should get home before TK worries too much..." He nodded, realizing TK would be home in minutes and Patamon would take a lot longer to fly there.  
  
"Alright then..." Patamon said, turning to the edge of the balcony and jumping to it. He was kind of relieved to go, he needed some time to think, to take everything in. "Goodnight, Gatomon." With that Patamon leaped, taking flight and gliding back to TK's apartment. He heard Gatomon's voice behind him, probably returning his farewell, but he was too far to hear it completely. The Digimon was already trying to put what he was feeling into words, not finding any that seemed to fit as well as they needed to... He only knew one thing, that it had to be the best thing he had felt in his life.  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 3 - Cataclysm  
  
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http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html 


	3. Cataclysm

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 3 - Cataclysm  
  
The next day TK found himself walking a familiar path through the park, the path that lead to the park's small lake, his usual meeting spot for Kari. This time he had Patamon with him, riding in a small gym bag to avoid anyone seeing him. Thankfully it was a Monday afternoon and very few people were in the park and the lake was usually empty, anyway. The teen was still on edge from the night before, he left for the date with every intention of proposing and never got up the nerve, it virtually ruined dinner for both of them. It didn't do much for his confidence, either, if he couldn't even do something he had been sure of for a year now. He thought he could do it once they reached Kari's door where it was more private, but to no avail, it didn't feel right for some reason. Maybe he could find a more suitable spot somewhere in the Digital World...  
  
TK didn't have time to think about where before he came to the lake, mostly closed off from the rest of the park save an opening for the path. The main reason it was unpopular was it's difficult access and a lake on the other side of the park with easier access was available. Kari was already sitting lakeside on a bench, looking out onto the water, away from the path. Gatomon was already looking at TK, her sharp hearing catching their approach.  
  
"Kari, they're here." Gatomon said, breaking her partner's trance. Kari looked over her shoulder, smiling at TK.   
  
"Sorry if we're late." TK said, shaking off his uncomfortable feeling. He unzipped the gym bag before gently setting it on the ground, letting Patamon flap out and take to the air.  
  
"It's alright, at least you got here at all." She replied. TK walked over to the bench, sitting down beside her. Gatomon jumped off the bench and ran across the ground, eventually reaching a tree, jumping onto it and using her claws to climb into the leaves of it. Patamon hesitated for a while before slowly following after. Their human partners watched the entire act, both in confusion.  
  
"Any idea what that was about?" Kari asked. "They usually talk along with us, they've never been secretive." TK could detect the worry in Kari's voice, but it was only slight, more out of confusion than anything.  
  
"Don't worry, even Digimon have their secrets." TK said. "Those two haven't gotten a chance to talk privately in a long time, anyway." Kari nodded, knowing that as well as TK did.  
  
"I guess you're right." She replied, taking his hand into her own. "So how has everything been? You were so nervous last night I never got a chance to actually talk to you." TK smiled nervously, slightly embarrassed at the fact.  
  
"Not bad, really." TK responded. "I'm still hunting for an apartment, so far nothing for a Digidestined right out of high school." Kari smiled, a sign of her getting an upper hand on TK. By now he could read that sign a mile away.  
  
"Well I've had a little luck." Kari mentioned. "I found one for rent, but I have to find a job that pays better first, it's too expensive for how much my current job pays." TK couldn't help but feel bad, not only because Kari couldn't get the apartment, but because she had found one before he did.  
  
"At least one of us is having some luck." TK said. "At this rate it'll be months before I've got any chances for one." TK suddenly saw a look in Kari's eyes of an idea coming to her mind.  
  
"Why don't we move into the same apartment?" She suggested suddenly, catching TK off guard. He had hoped that wasn't her idea, no clue how to take it.  
  
"Kari, isn't that a little serious?" TK asked, suddenly feeling as nervous as he did last night. He found it kind of ironic that he would call moving in together too serious when he was the one considering marriage.  
  
"TK, we've been dating for years, we see each other daily already." She said. "Think about it, the place is close to both of our current jobs, combined we could pay for rent and whatever we needed. It would even give Patamon and Gatomon a chance to see each other more often." The boy had to admit, the idea was kind of appealing... It seemed to work out perfect, he'd even get to see Kari daily without a long walk or drive somewhere. Still it was a bit sudden, maybe he wasn't as prepared for things like this as he had thought...  
  
Meanwhile the two Digimon had met up in the tree, both taking seats on the highest branch they could get to. Gatomon leaned back on her branch, resting against the trunk of the tree. Patamon's branch was wider, letting him lay down on it. The two both had the same idea, meet and work out whatever happened last night, but neither seemed eager to begin, knowing it was bound to get complicated.  
  
"...So..." Patamon finally got out. "...Gatomon, about last night..." Gatomon turned to the orange Digimon, shaking her head.  
  
"Patamon..." Gatomon said, a nervous tone to her words. It was rare when Patamon ever heard anything nervous out of her. "You know neither one of us can explain whatever that was last night, are you sure you want to bring it up?" Patamon hesitated, reconsidering for a second, but then nodded.  
  
"We can't just avoid it, it's always going to be there." He explained. Gatomon had to agree, no way she could ever get that sensation out of her memory.  
  
"You have a point, but what is there to do about it?" She asked. "We did it, we both felt... something... and what after that?" Patamon wished he could answer, but didn't have an answer to give.  
  
"Maybe just to enjoy the feeling." He said. "Maybe that's why TK and Kari did it." Gatomon thought for a second, then shook her head.  
  
"No, they did it for some other reason..." She said, thinking back to the previous night. "There was something about theirs that was important somehow, it wasn't just for that sensation. For all we know humans might not ever get that same feeling when they do it." Patamon hadn't thought about that, Digimon and humans were so different he hadn't considered it before.  
  
"Well what's different, then?" He asked. "What do they have that we don't that could have any reason to do that?" Gatomon had to think about it for a second, the Digimon were very much like their human companions and there was little they didn't share the same way...  
  
"...They're in love, Patamon." Gatomon finally realized. "That's what they have that we don't, and whatever that was they did was meant as a show of love. It wasn't meant for us to try." Patamon thought about it for a second before concluding that she was right... So why didn't he like the idea of it at all? Hearing her talk like that almost... hurt... but with a pain he never knew before, one that burned in him, confusing him to no end... It was all too much to take in at once...  
  
"Patamon! Gatomon!" TK shouted. The two looked down from the tree, seeing TK standing under it, looking into it for them. "Sorry to interrupt but something's come up." Both confused, Patamon and Gatomon made their way down through the branches, not knowing why TK would suddenly call them down. When they reached the bottom they saw Kari standing behind TK, holding onto her D-Terminal, which she still carried around just in case.  
  
"We got an e-mail from the Digital World." Kari explained. "I don't know who it was from, but they want us to go to Andromon's city as soon as we can." The two Digimon shared a quick glance, both looking for some idea as to what was going on.  
  
"Feels like the old days." TK joked. "Let's not keep them waiting, we can use my computer back home." Kari nodded, not wanting to waste time. She reached down, picking up her small book bag and showing it to Gatomon. TK already had the gym bag in his hand, the zipper already open. The two Digimon looked at their respective carrying cases, neither one looking forward to riding in them again.  
  
"Sorry, but you know you can't just wander around in the open." Kari said, opening her book bag and setting it down to allow Gatomon into it. She and Patamon sighed at the same time, slowly approaching their "ride" to TK's apartment.  
  
**********  
  
Thankfully TK didn't live too far and it was only a few minutes before Gatomon and Patamon were freed from the bags, now in TK's room. TK was standing over them, being the one that unzipped them, while Kari was already booting up the gateway to the Digital World. Both Digimon were relieved to be out of the bags, but felt a sense of joy to be returning to the Digital World after so long. There hadn't been any need for them to return there so there was no telling what had changed.  
  
"Okay, it's ready." Kari said, stepping back from the monitor. TK immediately noticed the familiar screen of the digital gate, already set to take them to the dome city and open for access. He reached into his pocket, drawing out his green D-3, always keeping it on hand.  
  
"Let's go, Patamon." TK said, stepping up to the monitor. He felt a certain chill in his spine, looking forward to returning to the Digital World. Patamon flew over, landing on his partner's shoulder, just as eager to make the return. TK held the small device to the monitor, watching it glow as the two reacted to each other. His vision flashed to white before seeing the familiar digital tunnel, as colorful and complex as ever. TK never did get used to being 'downloaded' like this, but it was always breathtaking.  
  
When his vision returned to normal, TK was standing in the Digital World for the first time in quite a while. He expected to see Andromon's city as soon as he landed, but saw nothing but hills and tall rocks in every direction, like a valley that had been thrown together. He looked back at the monitor, noting that it was on it's side and very oddly placed, like it had been thrown into it's current location. It came to life suddenly, beaming Kari and Gatomon into the Digiworld, landing them right beside TK and Patamon. The two girls look as confused as the boys at the unexpected scenery.  
  
"I thought this monitor set us in front of the city." Kari said. "Did it get moved?" Gatomon walked around, examining the area, trying to get her bearings.  
  
"It should be to the north, over these hills." She said, pointing to a hill behind the monitor. TK walked over, passing the monitor, and began a slow walk up the hill, which was harder than expected. Patamon took flight to lighten his load a little, staying in midair behind him. At the top TK took a second to collect himself before looking out at the horizon. It took him a second to realize what he saw, letting out a silent gasp of horror.  
  
"Kari, come up here, quick!" TK shouted down to the girls. Both of them took attention, running past the monitor and up the hill, in more of a rush than TK and Patamon. At the top the two looked out, not taking long to realize what TK had.  
  
"...What happened here..." Kari managed to say. Before the four of them was a city-sized scorch mark in the ground with a great deal of shrapnel scattered everywhere. It was the remains of the dome city, now nothing more than ash and burned scrap metal. None of the buildings survived whatever had happened, with the only ones still standing either broken in half or melted down, making them lean to one side.  
  
"...Let's get down there, maybe something's left." TK said, trying to focus his thoughts. Looking at such destruction got to him somehow, no matter how much of it he had seen since becoming a Digidestined. He tried to keep it out of his mind, starting down the hill toward the city. Patamon flew after with Kari and Gatomon not far behind. Everyone was a step slow, approaching the now ruined city, none of them looking forward to a close up look, just knowing they had to look.  
  
The remains of the city were farther away than expected and took a while to reach, but once they did they could see the extent of the damage. Most of the roads had been blown away or melted into lumps of steel, smaller buildings were leveled while taller ones were damaged beyond repair, with very few still standing at their full height. Many areas of the ground were blown away, exposing the underground sewers and tunnels, which seemed to be the only thing that survived.  
  
"It looks like a bomb went off..." Patamon said, feeling overwhelmed by the destruction around him. Gatomon shook her head, just as overwhelmed.  
  
"No bomb could have done this..." She said. "I don't even think a Digimon could have done it." TK had to agree, it looked like something incinerated the city from above, but no Digimon was that powerful. No Digimon he had ever seen, at least, other than Azulongmon.  
  
"I wonder if anything survived..." Kari said, looking around the rubble for some sign of life. Even TK doubted anything could life through such destruction, but if something in the Digital World could cause such damage, maybe something could withstand it, too. He started walking deeper into the city, looking through rubble and debris of the towers and buildings. TK even looked down into any of the exposed sewers he passed, hoping someone might have escaped underground. Unfortunately it looked like even the Numemon underground weren't safe, though.  
  
"TK, Kari, over here!" Patamon shouted from the air. TK looked up, finding Patamon a few yards away, hovering over a loose pile of scrap metal. TK made his way passed the field of shrapnel and over to Patamon, just as Kari and Gatomon made it to him, as well. Patamon landed on the ground in front of what looked like a metal hand sticking out if the rubble, still moving, slowly scratching the ground like whoever was buried was trying to escape.  
  
"Help me try and move some of this metal off of him." TK said, taking hold of some of the debris the Digimon was buried under. Kari stood beside TK and grabbed the same piece of metal, both pushing as hard as they could to get it off the pile. Gatomon and Patamon watched the two struggle to move the scrap, eventually pushing it over and onto the ground, along with a few smaller chunks it was supporting. With that job done, TK took hold of another, considerably smaller, piece of rubble, guessing the Digimon's head would be under it, and slowly carried it to the side, setting it down beside the now half uncovered Digimon.  
  
"It's Andromon!" Gatomon said, immediately recognizing the Digimon. "Looks like he's gone through a demolition derby." TK had to agree, he was surprised Andromon was still alive at all. Most of his metal body was dented and scorched, some was even ripped, showing internal circuits and gears, he almost looked like a different breed of Digimon. Kari kneeled down and looked over the face of Andromon, trying to find some sign of consciousness.  
  
"Andromon, can you hear me?" Kari said into the Digimon's face. "It's me, Kari. Remember?" TK couldn't help but remember the last time Kari pleaded to Andromon like this, when a black ring was controlling him. Hopefully the outcome would be as favorable as that one. The four waited, watching the robotic Digimon to respond in any way.  
  
"...Kari..." Andromon finally said, his usual mechanical voice weak. "...Can't see... Optic sensors... malfunctioning..." TK just now noticed the usual yellow glow to Andromon's eyes were gone, like a pair of dead Christmas lights.  
  
"Andromon, are you alright?" TK asked, as concerned as Kari for their old friend. Obviously he was pretty damaged, but he knew how resilient Digimon could be.  
  
"TK..." Andromon said, recognizing the voice of the Digidestined of Hope. "Will be... Automatic repair systems... intact... Estimated repair time... unknown..." TK was relieved to hear that, at least he knew Andromon would be as good as new at some point.  
  
"Do you know what happened?" Kari asked, hoping the Digimon was well enough to remember. Slowly Andromon nodded, kicking up a few sparks from his neck joints as he did so.  
  
"Memory... recall... damaged..." Andromon said. "Remember... blackness... a black field falling on the city... and then... destruction..." That didn't tell much, but to TK it sounded like it wasn't even a Digimon that had done it...  
  
"We aren't strong enough to get the rest of the rubble off of you." TK said regretfully. "Will you be alright here?" Again the android Digimon nodded, with only a few sparks coming up. Maybe those repair systems were already working.  
  
"Do not worry..." Andromon answered. "Robotic Digimon do not feel pain... When repaired... I can move the debris easily." TK was relieved to hear that. It would be impossible for them to move the rest of the scrap off of him without a lot of help.  
  
"TK..." Kari said, a kind of worried tone to her voice. "What could have caused all of this? Was it even a Digimon?" She picked up on the same idea as TK, but didn't know anymore than he did it seemed. TK could only shake his head, still with little idea of what to think.  
  
"I don't know, I wish I did..." He said, looking up from Andromon. "...I hate to say it, but I doubt it's finished..." TK took another look around at the scorched ruins of the city, somehow just now realizing what they were up against. They only knew what it could do, no clue what it looked like, where it was... and even worse, no idea when it would return.  
  
End Chapter 3  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 4 - Dream  
  
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	4. Dream

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 4 of 26 - Dream  
  
Hours passed before the four heroes had finished their search through the charred remains of Andromon's dome city. Though they covered most, if not all, of what remained, no other survivors were found. TK wasn't surprised Andromon was the only one that made it through the ordeal, after seeing him go toe to toe with a Dark Master and free himself from a Dark Ring, he was ready to believe Andromon could survive anything. TK wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, exhausted by the hours of sorting through scrap metal and cinders that remained of the city. He looked over to Kari, who wasn't too far away, also taking a rest break.  
  
"Kari, maybe we should call it a day..." TK said, trying his best not to pant. "It's getting really late and we've covered the whole city." Kari nodded, her own sweat falling from her forehead as she did so. She looked kind of upset, probably because they didn't find any other survivors.  
  
"I just don't believe it, TK..." Kari said, looking toward him. "There were so many Digimon in this city, both above and below ground, and only one survived?" She lowered her head to the ground, not wanting to shoe how upset she was. To TK is was obvious, though, as he walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders from behind in an effort to somehow comfort her.  
  
"It just means nobody that stayed here survived." He explained. "Something that big, someone had to have seen it coming and escaped it. They're probably miles away by now, safe and sound." Kari looked over her shoulder, a slight smile on her face.  
  
"I hope so..." She said. Kari looked up at the sky, suddenly noticing how dark it was getting, before letting out a sigh. "It is getting late... This city's bigger than I remember, I didn't think it would take so long to search..." TK was about to agree when Gatomon and Patamon walked up, both looking as beat as their human partners.  
  
"I never thought I'd want to leave the Digiworld so much..." Patamon said, slumping down to the ground. TK held down a small chuckle, kneeling down to pick up his Digimon partner. He felt sorry for his friend, who had been flying around the ruins for hours now. Kari reached down and picked up Gatomon, who looked even more time than Patamon. She was mostly climbing around the rubble and larger debris, looking where TK and Kari couldn't, probably why she looked so worn out.  
  
"Relax, Patamon, I think we're done here." TK said to the Digimon in his arms. "At least Andromon made it out alive, that's one thing to be happy about. And all the other Digimon will be reborn anyway so we really shouldn't worry about them, either." Kari smiled a bit, apparently forgetting that rule. Digimon don't die, they just get reconverted, they learned it so early but it was still so easy to forget.  
  
"That's one relief..." Gatomon said, sounding about the same as she looked. "Right now I could use a good, long catnap..." The feline Digimon curled up as much as she could in her partner's arms, trying to find comfort for her worn body.  
  
"I think that goes for all of us..." Kari said, looking back in the direction the monitor was in. "Let's go, TK, our parents are going to start to worry." TK nodded, nearly forgetting his mom would have no idea where he vanished to for so long. The two turned and began to walk away from the destruction around them, all four afraid that this wasn't the end. They knew whatever did this would return, it was just a matter of time, and until it appeared again, there was nothing they could do to stop it.  
  
**********  
  
Kari opened her eyes, dazed and confused about her surroundings. All she could see was endless darkness in every direction but down, where a neon green grid made up the floor. It extended in every direction, as endless as the darkness. She didn't know how she got here or where she was, but for some reason she had no urge to leave the strange place. She also felt a strange presence, like she wasn't alone, even though she didn't see anyone in the space with her.  
  
"...Is anyone out there?" Kari said, suddenly finding her voice. It sounded unusual, though, like it wasn't coming from her mouth. It sounded like it came out of the darkness, from every direction at once.  
  
"...Child of Light..." A voice suddenly said, also coming from every direction at once. It sounded somewhat familiar, but in her daze Kari didn't recognize it. "The Cataclysm of the Digital World is upon us..." Kari guessed the voice was referring to whatever destroyed Andromon's city, but this voice wasn't of her own mind, how did it know it's name?  
  
"How do you know about that?" She asked into the darkness. "Do you know what it is?" She didn't think Cataclysm was the only thing this voice knew about it, somehow she knew it had more than that.  
  
"I do..." The voice replied. "There is little time, I can not explain it all here. Come to the temple in the western area of the Digital World. All you need to know will be revealed there." Kari was beginning to wonder how this voice knew so much, and what it was talking about.  
  
"...Who are you?" Kari finally asked, suddenly needing to know. She heard the voice chuckle a little, though Kari didn't see what was so funny about that.  
  
"I would hope that you remember me better than that, Kari." The voice said, a little clearer than before. Before Kari could place the voice a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. They began to come closer to her, as they came they were followed by the being they belonged to, a massive bearded blue dragon, the oriental kind with no wings or large limbs. It was wrapped in chains, though not in a way to constrict it. On each of it's limbs a set of orbs circled around, each giving off a light glow.  
  
"Azulongmon!" Kari said, immediately recognizing the eastern guardian of the Digital World. "...You sent us the e-mail yesterday, didn't you?" She was just guessing that, but Azulongmon nodded, confirming her guess.  
  
"I was hoping to be there to explain, but I cannot leave my post now." He explained. "The risk is too great for me to leave the eastern hemisphere unguarded. I had to contact you directly, though, there is a great deal you need to know and understand before proceeding." Kari didn't know what he meant by that, but she knew Azulongmon wouldn't do anything without a reason. She nodded, trying to prepare herself for whatever was to come next.  
  
**********  
  
The next day TK woke up to the sound of his telephone ringing, which wasn't the best of wakeup calls with it sitting on the nightstand right next to his ear. Still exhausted from the previous day, TK forced himself to sit halfway up in bed before reaching over for the phone, a little dazed to find it right away. Once he did, TK put it to his ear, hoping it wasn't one of Matt's prank wakeup calls.  
  
"...Hello?" TK said, his exhaustion very apparent in his voice. Patamon had apparently woken up from the ringing phone, as well, as he now stood on the bed, listening in.  
  
"TK?" A girl on the other end asked. TK perked up a bit, hearing Kari's voice. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" TK panicked slightly, taking a second to compose himself.  
  
"Nah, not at all." He said, doing his best to hide his fatigue. "Been up for hours." TK hoped that was enough to convince her, but as soon as he said it he let a yawn escape his mouth, making Kari giggle on the other end.  
  
"Sure you have." She said jokingly. "TK, I had a dream last night..." TK noticed her voice suddenly become serious, something she rarely did so early. She never called to tell him about a dream, though.  
  
"...What about?" He asked, no idea what it could have been. TK also didn't want to make any guesses, afraid he might slip and somehow offend her. He found himself doing that a lot, though, watching every word he said to her carefully.  
  
"It's a little complicated, can you come over?" She asked. TK shook his head, trying to jog his alertness a bit more.  
  
"It can't wait?" TK asked. "I mean, it's really early to even be awake." He glanced over to Patamon, who was suddenly giving him a curious look for some reason.  
  
"...TK, it's almost noon now." She said on the other end. TK paused blankly before looking over at his alarm clock, reading 11:43 a.m. on the face of it. He was amazed that he had slept so long but still felt like he needed more.  
  
"...Then I'll be right over." He said in defeat. No extra sleep for him this morning, much to his regret. He heard Kari hang up the phone, obviously in a hurry of some kind, before hanging up his own. It had to be really important if she couldn't talk about it on the phone, why would he have to be there just to hear about a dream?  
  
"I take it we're going over to Kari's?" Patamon asked. TK didn't realize that Patamon might need to come, as well, or even if Kari wanted him to come with him. He figured Gatomon would have to be there and if it was a little too private for them it would be rude to exclude her without any company.  
  
"Yup, soon as I can get myself together." TK said, realizing he probably looked like a wreck after sleeping for so long. He forced himself out of his bed, immediate feeling the effects of yesterday as he stood, and walked over to his closet to find a fresh change of clothes. It was then he realized he was still in the same clothes as last night, too tired from their searching to even change out of them for bed. He quickly found one of his signature yellow and green shirts to change into, pulling his current one off and dumping it into a laundry basket beside his closet. He quickly exchanged the shorts he was wearing for another pair, a little bigger to be more comfortable. After a similar exchange of socks, TK wandered out of his room to the bathroom to get his hair out of it's tangles, leaving Patamon to himself in the bedroom.  
  
"Sometimes I'm glad I'm not human." Patamon said to himself. "I'd hate to change clothes every day like that..." That brought an unpleasant thought of him having to change into new fur every day into his mind, removing any exhaustion that might have still been in the small Digimon. He decided it was better just to wait for TK to finish up rather than let his thoughts wander like that again, not wanting the image in his head any longer.  
  
As he waited, Patamon couldn't help but think back to his experiences with Gatomon in the past few days. From their encounter outside Kari's apartment, which he had since found out was called a kiss, to her revelation about the action the next day. He could still feel a burning sensation inside of him when he thought back to the experimental kiss, but thoughts of Gatomon's words the following day still made that same feeling ache and even hurt. It was too many thoughts for the small Digimon to work out all at once, too many emotions running through him to sort out. He wished he had words to describe it all, or at least part of it, but he couldn't think of any that fit well enough.  
  
"Patamon, you ready?" He suddenly heard. Patamon snapped out of his trance and looked up at TK, who now looked ready to leave, but still obviously tired.  
  
"Yeah, sorry." He replied. Patamon flew up from the bed and landed on TK's shoulder, hoping his partner wasn't too tired to make the trip to Kari's apartment.  
  
**********  
  
An hour later TK was again walking down the open hallway that lead to Kari's apartment, this time with Patamon tagging along. The little Digimon was flying freely this time with no need for the backpack, having memorized every hiding spot on the way to Kari's house long before on their numerous trips to the girl's home. Only when TK reached Kari's front door did Patamon fly over to TK from a hiding spot, landing on his shoulder as TK rang the doorbell, seeming a little quick in his actions. Patamon figured he was still trying to shake off his sleepiness since his face still showed his exhaustion. The orange Digimon quickly snapped one of his wings in front of TK's eyes, making him jerk back suddenly.  
  
"TK, keep your eyes open." Patamon said. "You don't want Kari to think she woke you up calling you, she'll get upset." TK knew this as well as his partner, but he couldn't help it, digging through that city had to be the hardest thing he had ever done.  
  
"Sorry, Patamon, I'm trying my best." He replied, forcing his eyes to open farther, trying to not look so dazed. Before he could manage to gain his full composure the door opened, revealing Kari on the other side.  
  
"Hi, TK." She said, a strange, unidentifiable tone to her voice. "Thanks for coming over so fast..." Kari hesitated, just now noticing TK's dazed expression. "...Are you feeling alright? You look tired..." TK shook his head in vein effort to knock some sleep out of him. He noticed that somehow Kari looked perfectly fine, other than a worried look in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I'm alright." TK said, trying to sound convincing. "Just overdid it yesterday I guess." Kari simply nodded in response, apparently not in the mood to argue the point. Instead she started walking back to her room, leaving TK and Patamon to follow. The boy entered, shutting the door behind him, and quickly followed after, unsure of why Kari was being so serious suddenly. Once the two reached her room Kari was already standing beside her computer, with Gatomon sitting on Kari's bed, watching her partner. Patamon flew off of TK's shoulder and onto the bed beside Gatomon, awaiting the next events.  
  
"TK, about that dream I had..." Kari said, getting right to the point. This was really worrying TK, it was rare she was this serious and straight forward, especially about something like a dream.  
  
"Kari, why such a rush?" TK asked, suddenly too curious or worried to wait. "Whatever that dream was, can't you afford to slow down just a little?" TK was doing this mainly out of worry, but he had to admit his own sleepiness was making it hard to keep up.  
  
"TK, this wasn't a normal dream." She replied. "It was a message. Azulongmon came to me in that dream." This caught TK's attention, his alertness suddenly up a step. "He didn't say how, but he knew about what destroyed Andromon's city, he's the one that e-mailed us about it in the first place. He called it the Cataclysm... The Cataclysm of the Digital World." TK was beginning to get worried, but at least it knocked the sleep out of him. This meant it wasn't a Digimon that did it, meaning stopping it was going to be even harder...  
  
"Did he say where it was?" TK asked. "Or at least how to stop it?" TK was asking anything that would make this easier, but Kari only shook her head in reply.  
  
"No, he didn't have time to explain." She replied. "He only had time to get the most important details out. He said there was a temple in the western region of the Digital World where we could get more answers." TK was beginning to wonder if the dream was even that serious, if he knew so little about the Cataclysm except for it's name.  
  
"Kari, are you sure you didn't dream all of this up?" He asked. "You might have just been too worried about it and the whole thing came from that." Kari hesitated, then reached into her pocket. TK didn't know what she was doing until she removed her hand, revealing her D-3. Kari quickly hit a button on it and held it to her side, letting an image project form the small screen onto the wall just above the two Digimon's heads. Patamon and Gatomon turned and faced the wall to get a good look at the image, which turned out to be a map with a flashing red dot in the middle and a smaller, blue one near it.  
  
"That's the western Digital World!" Gatomon announced. "How did you get a map to it, though? We've never been outside the eastern region." Kari didn't have an exact answer, just guesses.  
  
"I just woke up this morning and when I touched my Digivice it started displaying this map." She explained. Kari pressed the button again, shutting the projection off and replacing her D-3. "The red dot was the temple, and the blue one was the closest monitor to the temple. I think it's just under an hour's walk to the temple, if we go now we can see what's going on." The map was more than enough proof for TK, though he wish he knew how it suddenly got onto her D-3...  
  
"That's everything Azulongmon told you?" TK asked, hoping for more than that. Kari shook her head regretfully, wishing there was more she could say.  
  
"Sorry, that's all he told me." She answered. "At least it's something, maybe the temple has a way to beat this Cataclysm." TK hoped so, but that seemed too easy somehow, there had to be more they didn't know.  
  
"So what are we waiting for?" Patamon asked, walking to the edge of the bed with Gatomon right beside him. "We should get going before it has a chance to do more damage." TK and Kari both nodded, glancing at each other before looking at Kari's computer, already online with the Digiport loaded. Patamon and Gatomon jumped form the bed, both landing on their respective partners as they took out their D-3s, pointing them to the monitor. In a flash of bright light the four had vanished from the room, all expecting anything from their trip to the temple.  
  
End Chapter 4  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 5 - Enemy  
  
Personal Note: As I wrote this chapter I was in a state of depression over the sudden retirement of Kale from FanFiction.Net. He was quite possibly the best author on this entire website and to suddenly have him gone is a bit of a mind shock to me as I hold a great deal of respect to him. I will freely admit he is probably the only one more deserving of my title than I am and the only author I looked up to for both inspiration and motivation. He was the best asset Clan Takari had and he's left a pair of shoes that'll never be filled again. For that and many other reasons, the rest of this story is dedicated to Kale, the best of all Takari authors. I wear the crown of King of Takari with pride, but to him, I gladly tip my crown in respect. If any one has any of Kale's fics on file, I'd be eternally grateful if you could send them to me, e-mail me at CyberDracomon@aol.com if you do. Thank you.  
  
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	5. Enemy

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 5 of 26 - Enemy  
  
Before the group knew it they found themselves back in the Digital World, but in an area they had never seen before. Even though everything looked the same as the region they had come to know well, they all had a feeling in them that this wasn't the Digital World they were used to. TK looked around the landscape, seeing far off mountains and jungle areas unfamiliar to him, even the grass under his feet felt different somehow. He looked over at Kari, who looked about as lost as he was.  
  
"Hey Gatomon?" Kari said, taking her own look around. "How much do you know about this area of the Digital World?" To Kari's dismay Gatomon looked as lost as any of them.  
  
"Just that it's guarded by a different Digimon than Azulongmon." She explained. "Maybe that's why everything feels weird..." TK hadn't thought of that, whatever guardian was in this realm was probably different in power than Azulongmon. Whatever the reason was, it would take a while to adjust to. It felt like the grass and ground under his feet were a lot firmer, like the grass was growing out of stone instead of soil.  
  
"We should be careful." TK said. "We don't even know what Digimon are in this area of the Digital World, for all we know Digimon like Myotismon could be common around here." Kari nodded, a sudden look of worry in her eyes. TK didn't mean to worry her with that, but it was true they had to be prepared for the worst that could happen.  
  
"In that case we should hurry to the temple." Patamon suggested. "Better to avoid anything until we know what's out there, right?" TK had to admit, his partner showed a lot more maturity under pressure, a big contrast to his usual self.  
  
"Right, Patamon." Kari replied, drawing her D-3 from her pocket. She held it forward, projecting the map of the area in front of the four. "...Looks like the temple is..." Kari pointed the Digivice around until the map lined up with the landscape, pointing the right direction. "...It's somewhere in that jungle." TK looked away from the map, now noticing it pointed into an ominous looking jungle, too thick to look very far into.  
  
"Not exactly a convenient temple, is it?" Gatomon said, just as stunned at the appearance of the jungle as TK was.  
  
"Azulongmon said we had to go there, though." Kari replied. "We've dealt with worse than some overgrown plants, right?" She had a point, but then again that was in the eastern regions, getting through the jungle might be the easiest thing about the journey.  
  
"Let me and Patamon go ahead." Gatomon said suddenly. "If we're in front of you it'll be easier for us to warn you and defend you. Besides, who else is going to clear out those vines?" The girls seemed to be dead on today, and in all honesty TK wasn't looking forward to leading them into the jungle himself, at least this way he could stay beside Kari and keep her safe just in case.  
  
"Alright then." TK said. "Gatomon and Patamon can lead the way, it should just be a straight shot to the temple from here." The two Digimon nodded, both ready for their new task. Gatomon started into the jungle first, taking a quick swipe of her claws to remove a low-hanging vine. Patamon flew in a little higher, ready to blast any branches or vines out of the way. TK was about to enter, only to be stopped by Kari suddenly taking hold of his wrist from behind. He turned to look at her, confused by the sudden reluctance.  
  
"TK..." She started, a worried tone to her voice. "Azulongmon... He said this would be harder than anything we've ever faced before... What if we're not up to it?" He realized Kari had waited for Patamon and Gatomon to be out of earshot, not wanting to discourage them, but such a sudden show of worry wasn't like Kari at all. TK turned and put his hands on Kari's waist, a gesture of comfort he had used a great deal in their history together.  
  
"Kari, we can't worry about that so soon." TK explained, trying his best to find the right words quickly. "We don't even know how to stop the Cataclysm yet, but I know we're capable of it. We've been through too much already not to be." TK noticed Kari smile a bit, hopefully a sign of some renewed confidence. "Let's go, we'll find something at the temple to help. There's nothing to worry about." TK released Kari's waist and turned, walking into the path their Digimon had cleared. Kari smiled, watching him enter the dense jungle.  
  
"Right, TK..." She whispered to herself. "...Nothing to worry about..." Kari took a deep breath to relax herself before following after TK, hoping the solution to this problem awaited them.  
  
**********  
  
Patamon blasted another vine from in front of him, ripping it apart as his Boom Bubble forced itself through the vine. It was about the tenth one he had to take care of, it was a task that was proving more difficult than he expected. He looked below at Gatomon, who was having a considerably easier time with her built-in weed whackers. Patamon couldn't look for long, though, too many recent memories being raised all over again. Unfortunately even without looking at Gatomon those memories seemed to drift through his mind, it was uncontrollable.  
  
"Hey!" Patamon suddenly heard. "Digiworld to Patamon!" He looked down to see Gatomon staring up at him like he had just dropped dead.  
  
"Oh, sorry..." He quickly said. "Guess this whole Cataclysm thing is starting to get to me." That was true to an extant, but obviously wasn't what was bothering him the most.  
  
"Well at least pay attention, we can't stop it if we can't get any farther." She reminded him. Gatomon pointed up to a cluster of vines in front of Patamon, it seemed to be a knot of vines from every direction. "Think you can fire a shot good enough to get through that?" Patamon took a good look at how the knot was formed, then simply smiled, flying backwards a little. He quickly took in as much air as his body could hold, swelling him up to twice his size.  
  
"Boom Bubble!" Patamon fired the blast of air, throwing himself backwards in the process. The ball of air hit the tangles hard, slowly ripping at them with the sharp blast of air. After only a few seconds the blast forced its way through, sending the remains of the vines everywhere and clearing the path.  
  
"Nice shot." Gatomon complimented. She walked forward, just now noticing what was beyond those tangles. "It looks like a big clearing, there's no trees to get through." Patamon just now noticed the same, it looked like one big gap in the jungle.  
  
"Good, maybe we can stop and rest for a while..." Patamon suggested. Gatomon looked behind her, checking for their human partners.  
  
"Looks like we got a little too far ahead of Kari and TK..." She said. "Maybe we should stop and let them catch up." Always trying to be the tough one... Patamon had known her for too long, though, he could tell she was as tired as he was. She had a way of limping her tail a bit lower when she was, it meant the same as panting or sweating for her.  
  
'Whew..." Patamon said, landing on the ground beside her. He was glad to get off of his wings after so long, not to mention glad he could let his body rest, it was sore from so many Boom Bubble inflations. He and Gatomon walked into the clearing, now getting a full view of how large it was. It looked so strange, even though the area was surrounded by trees and vines, there wasn't anything but dirt under their feet now, or anywhere in the large circular area.  
  
"Looks like the only way in is the path we made." Gatomon pointed out, noticing there were no other clearings. "It should be a safe place to take a break." Patamon walked around, looking over the area. It looked safe enough, but to his dismay not a single fruit tree. Firing so often had made him a little hungry, nothing unbearable but enough to be distracting. In a way he welcomed it, distracted from his thoughts of Gatomon and the past few days with her. It haunted him no matter what he did or thought about for some reason, and the more it haunted him the more it hurt. This had to stop, one way or another, he had to get it off his mind.  
  
"Gatomon..." Patamon said nervously. "As long as we're alone, I need to talk to you." Gatomon looked at him strangely, not expecting this.  
  
"What is it, Patamon?" She asked. "...Wait... This isn't about what happened a few days ago, is it? I thought we agreed on that, it was just an experiment and we know what it was, right?" Of course Patamon already knew all of that, but just knowing that wasn't enough now.  
  
"I know, Gatomon, but..." Somehow the words he needed escaped him, it took a while to recall them. "...but something still doesn't feel right about it. It was more than just that, didn't you feel it, too?" Gatomon looked on with a blank stare, unsure of what to think.  
  
"...I'll admit that..." She said. "...but we know what we did wasn't meant for us, what if it was wrong for us to do?" Patamon shook his head, something in him not agreeing with that.  
  
"We don't know that for sure." He replied. "Just because TK and Kari are in love and we're not doesn't mean it was wrong." Patamon felt weird saying that, but for what reason he didn't know. Gatomon hesitated before responding, apparently not sure what to reply with.  
  
"I guess we just don't know enough about it..." She admitted. If we keep guessing like this we're just going to confuse ourselves. Maybe we should just find out what it's for before we try to guess again." Patamon was more concerned about why he felt such a thrill from it, but whatever they could figure out had to help.  
  
"Good idea." He replied. "...I'm sorry I brought it up. I guess I was kind of worried..." Gatomon blinked, now unsure of what he was getting at.  
  
"Worried about what?" She asked. Patamon wish he knew that, too, it was hard for even him to identify... He took a minute to find the words, but they still didn't seem right.  
  
"Well..." He began. "I... kind of felt like it might have hurt our friendship somehow... It's strange, I can't describe it, I just feel that way." Gatomon looked down, thinking things over. Patamon wasn't sure what to expect next and could only wait.  
  
"...Now that I think about it, I guess I worried about the same." She said. "You don't have to worry, though, next to Kari I trust you the most in the world. You've been my best friend for years, nothing could change that, right?" Patamon smiled slightly, relieved at her reaction.  
  
"Right." He replied. "Thanks, Gatomon." With that Patamon stepped closer and gave Gatomon a friendly hug, the same he had been giving her for years. She smiled and hugged back, doing a better job of it than Patamon with his smaller arms. Patamon stayed there for a second, but something felt wrong now. It was like the hug was wrong, it seemed... almost empty...  
  
**********  
  
TK and Kari eventually made it to the clearing where Patamon and Gatomon were waiting. Both Digimon looked well rested from their clearing jobs and were obviously ready for more. TK looked around at the clearing, amazed that the jungle could keep such a wide open area barren of land like this.  
  
"Kari, can you check the map?" TK asked. "I want to see how close this clearing is from the temple." Kari nodded, pulling out her Digivice. She pressed the button on top, projecting the map into the air. Kari looked it over, finding the two markers and a small gap in the jungle where they were now.  
  
"Looks like we're a little more than halfway there." She pointed out. "We'll probably be there in another half hour easily." TK was relieved to hear that, as it was he didn't like pushing Patamon and Gatomon so hard just to get to the temple.  
  
"Let's hurry, then." TK said. "We still don't know enough about this place to just wait for something to happen." He then turned to the two Digimon, who jumped to attention as he did. "Think you two are up for the next half of the trip?" Patamon and Gatomon exchanged a quick glance before nodding at TK, then started for the other side of the clearing.  
  
Before the two even got to the center, though, they were stopped by a sudden flash of light that seemed to come out of nowhere, forcing all four to cover their eyes. When they looked back there was now a strange energy in the middle of the air that looked like a surge of electricity dancing around.  
  
"This can't be good..." Patamon said, stepping back a bit. Gatomon did the same, both still watching the electricity. Suddenly it vanished, only the be replaced by what looked like a crack from a broken window, but in midair, not seeming to be on anything. The crack spread from it's center, steadily growing, each new crack accompanied by the same noise you'd expect to hear from breaking glass.  
  
"TK, what's going on?" Kari asked nervously. TK was too nervous to answer, even if he could explain it. Suddenly from the middle of the cracks a pair of large claws appeared, startling everyone, making them jump back. The claws turned away from each other, then dug into the air beside them, taking hold. They then pulled the cracks apart, making them spread much faster and the sounds to become much louder. Eventually they hit a breaking point, shattering the air and sending fragments everywhere and sounding a huge breaking noise. TK covered his eyes with his arm to protect from any of the fragments, only to find none hit him. He could have sworn there were shards heading right for him... He looked up, finding the cracks gone and the air normal, but they were now replaced by a new figure. A massive, blood red dragon was now there, floating in the air above them. It had to be at least four times as tall as TK was. It had a powerful chest, covered with barbs, and strong arms with spikes on the shoulders and blades coming from the wrists. He had no legs, instead he featured a long tail with a set of spikes on the end. From his neck to the end of his tail his belly was gold colored and he sported two pairs of wings, all featuring their own spike at the top and lighter red in the skin of it's wings. On his head he had four horns, one larger and one smaller on both sides of his head. He had a mane of very light blonde hair and a pair of bright, glowing gold eyes with a small spike above each. The sight was as menacing as any Digimon he had ever seen before.  
  
"...You two are the ones the guardian's have chosen?" It roared, his voice echoed slightly as he spoke. "I was hoping for more... Still you are the children of Hope and Light, you may prove worthy yet..." Both TK and Kari were amazed, not only by the sight of this Digimon but also that he already knew more about them than they knew about him.  
  
"Who are you?" Kari shouted up to the dragon Digimon. "How do you know who we are?" It looked down at her, it's facial expression ice cold the entire time except for it's glaring eyes.  
  
"How I know of you is not of your concern." He responded. "I am Ragnadramon, the guardian of the Cataclysm. I know of your quest and I have been sent to make sure you do not accomplish it." TK knew it wasn't going to be as easy as Kari and Azulongmon made it out to be. He looked down at Patamon, who looked eager to go into battle.  
  
"Patamon, you're up!" TK shouted. "Don't go too far just yet, though, if he's only a Champion you don't have to waste your strength so soon." TK knew his entrance was flashy and he was big, but they had seen bigger Champion Digimon and Patamon still needed as much strength as possible to get to the temple. TK watched as his partner began glowing, building up the needed energy.  
  
"Patamon Digivolve to..." Patamon's traditional storm of feathers emerged, flying in every direction. Once his power had hit it's limit, Patamon vanished in a blaze of white light, leaving a very familiar six winged angel in his place. "Angemon!" It had been so long since TK had seen Angemon he couldn't believe he was back.  
  
"Ah, yes..." Ragnadramon said, now watching Angemon. "You command the angel Digimon... This may prove amusing." Angemon ignored the comment, swinging his staff and then absorbing it into his fist, charging his attack.  
  
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon threw his fist forward, firing a beam of pure holy energy. The golden beam flew at Ragnadramon, but the dragon remained motionless, making no effort against the attack. TK and Angemon watched as the attack blasted against his chest, but only flew off, spreading out as it hit and disappearing without even making Ragnadramon blink. Both couldn't believe he had so easily ignored the attack.  
  
"He's an Ultimate?" Kari said, as surprised as any of them. She looked at Gatomon, who was already waiting for a signal to join in. "Alright, then it's our turn." With that Gatomon turned and began building up her own power, preparing her own transformation.  
  
"Gatomon Digivolve to..." Gatomon's body became a bright pink, growing from a feline to a humanoid form. Her gloves slipped off, replaced by a new, archer's glove on one hand and a long ribbon on the other. Her eight wings grew, unfolding as her angelic outfit appeared, finishing off with her helmet. "Angewomon!" The dragon now had two angels to battle with, something that even Myotismon and Dark Masters had cowered over. The dragon remained perfectly calm, however, waiting for the next move.  
  
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon quickly formed an arrow of light, pulling it against the bow that had formed on her glove. As soon as it was charged she let it fly toward Ragnadramon's face, sending it as fast as possible. Just before it connected, though, the heroes heard a loud whip crack just before the arrow was thrown to the side, it's power diminished. They couldn't tell what had knocked it off course until they noticed Ragnadramon's tail retracting back.  
  
"TK, he's too powerful." Angemon stated. "I'll have to go all out to stop him." TK nodded, agreeing, but he wished there was an easier way. Again Angemon powered himself up, this time taking in as much energy as he could draw.  
  
"Angemon Digivolve to..." Another storm of white feathers came, this time surrounding Angemon has his body became pure energy, eventually reforming into a more powerful, eight-winged angel. A purple shield appeared over his left arm with a purple beam sword on his right, and a new purple helmet across his face. "MagnaAngemon!" TK was sure this would be a match for the dragon, MagnaAngemon had proven more than once he was as powerful as any Digimon, even Megas. MagnaAngemon wasted no time, raising his sword and circling it around.  
  
"Gate Of Destiny!" He cried, releasing the loop he had formed. It flashed before becoming a golden gate, circling in midair in front of Ragnadramon, The gate opened, releasing a mass of white energy, flooding over Ragnadramon. TK watched as it bombarded their enemy, but his hope soon became despair as Ragnadramon grabbed onto the gate, gripping onto it until it exploded into a storm of digital bits. Again he glared at his opponents, with no sign of physical damage or effort. A Mega level, that was the last thing TK wanted to see now...  
  
"I had thought you were the strongest of the Digidestined..." The dragon said. "I was hoping I would have more of a fight in this encounter, but alas it was not to be. Now it's my turn..." Ragnadramon's eyes suddenly flared even brighter, apparently readying an attack of his own. Both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon flew back a bit, regrouping themselves for whatever was coming next. Ragnadramon suddenly turned his head to Angewomon, his chosen first victim.  
  
"Reality Breaker!" Ragnadramon threw his claws forward, making the space around Angewomon crack and distort. Before she could escape the space shattered into shards, then flew around her and through her in every direction, slashing her over and over. With each passing shard came a scream from the angel Digimon, paralyzing her in pain. Kari watched on in horror, unable to do anything to help. The shards suddenly stopped, then exploded with enough force to throw Angewomon to the ground, hitting hard and actually breaking the ground under her form the force of her impact. Kari ran over to her fallen partner, kneeling beside her in hopes that she was okay. TK watched the entire scene and was about to tell MagnaAngemon to run while he could, only to find the dragon Mega already entering his next attack, looking at MagnaAngemon.  
  
"Eternal Pain!" Ragnadramon's eyes suddenly emitted an eerie, dark red light. MagnaAngemon wasn't sure what to expect until he felt a surge of pain through his entire body. TK watched as the same red light suddenly came from his partner's body, looking like endless spikes coming from within the center of his body. With the attack came an endless scream of agony from MagnaAngemon and Ragnadramon showed no signs of letting up. As much as he tried MagnaAngemon could do little but scream, in too much pain to move. Eventually Ragnadramon blinked, restoring his eyes' gold glow. The light faded from MagnaAngemon, sending the angel Digimon falling to the ground, landing with a hard crash into the jungle floor. TK couldn't believe what had just happened, too stunned to know what to do next. Both Digimon were out and Ragnadramon wasn't even budged, and worst yet he looked far from finished...  
  
End Chapter 5  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 6 - Fate  
  
Ragnadramon is my own creation! Go here to see him:  
  
  
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	6. Fate

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 6 of 26 - Fate  
  
Ragnadramon loomed over the two fallen Digimon, both still withering from the attacks of the Mega level Digimon. MagnaAngemon looked like an explosion had hit him, with cracks in his armor, shield, and helmet. His beam sword wasn't even functioning and his wings laid limp on the ground, barely twitching. Angewomon looked worse, with small cuts all over her body, her shallow breathing the only sign that she was still alive. TK and Kari both looked on in horror, fearing what was to come next.  
  
"It seems they have more energy than I thought..." The dragon roared. "I was expecting them to lose their forms... It must be the power they received from Azulongmon. No matter, that will soon be rectified." With that Ragnadramon flew up higher into the air, keeping his eyes on the two crippled angels. He stretched his arms out, burying his claws into open space, as if bracing himself. His eyes suddenly went from gold to bright white, and the area around him began bending and twisting like an abstract painting. "Coming of Ragnarok!" The space around Ragnadramon shattered as he screamed his attack, making the area quake. TK and Kari fell to the ground from the force of the tremor, but neither took their eyes off the sight. Ragnadramon opened his mouth, screaming as he fired a massive, transparent blaze of energy down at MagnaAngemon and Angewomon, hitting them with tremendous force, enough to shatter the ground beneath them. Both screamed in pain, their bodies quaking violently from the sheer force being hammered down onto them. Over the loud thundering the attack was causing, TK heard Kari cry out. He suddenly became frightened, remembering how close she was to Angewomon upon the attack. Without thinking TK ran to where he heard the scream, finding Kari desperately trying to keep her ground under the force of the attack. TK kneeled down beside her and held her tight, keeping her as safe as he could manage. He turned to their Digimon, who had stopped screaming, now either too exhausted or in too much pain to scream. Suddenly both angel Digimon began to glow faintly and both stopped shaking. Ragnadramon cut off his attack, letting go of the space around him, letting it shape back into it's normal form. He watched as the debris blown from the ground fell back down to the earth, along with the two Digimon, who were now back to their basic forms, far too weak to maintain their Ultimate levels. TK couldn't believe they were being dominated so easily by this enemy, not after how many trials they had gone through in the past. Piedmon, Apocalymon, Diaboromon, MaloMyotismon, none of them could have prepared them for this.  
  
"Much better..." The dragon said, satisfied by his performance. "To think you two even slightly aided in saving this world so many times over must be a joke..." TK looked on in anger, but it was a futile attempt at showing bravery. Inside he was frightened at the brute power of his opponent. He looked over at Kari, who had her head down and eyes closed. He noticed a few tears dripping from her eyes, obviously upset over Gatomon getting hurt so badly. Of course he was just as worried about Patamon, but he could do little with Ragnadramon hovering over them.  
  
Just then TK heard something from beyond the border of the clearing. Apparently Ragnadramon heard it, as well, as he was now watching the direction it came from. Before TK could tell where it was coming from something exploded form the trees and toward Ragnadramon. It went by so fast all TK could make out were white and blue blurs. Ragnadramon had better reflexes and dodged whatever it was, still watching it. It stopped between TK and Kari, turning at the dragon Digimon in defense. It looked like a massive white tiger, but with blue stripes instead of black. He also wore armor on his claws and head, all mostly in blue. What TK noticed the most was his waist, were a dozen Digicores circled around his midsection, similar to the ones covering Azulongmon.  
  
"Leave them, dragon." It warned, his voice as booming as Ragnadramon's. "The western region is under my rule." TK wasn't sure what was going on now, he didn't even know the Digimon he now owed his life to.  
  
"Baihumon..." Ragnadramon snarled. "I thought you were still playing babysitter to this hemisphere." Baihumon roared at the dragon, bringing his vicious fangs to bear.  
  
"I said leave, spawn. Now!" The tiger commanded. Neither Digimon showed any signs of backing down, however, neither one intimidated by the other.  
  
"If you insist on protecting them, I believe I have no choice..." The dragon said, surprising TK and Kari by the sudden answer. "...after all, this world would begin to crumble upon your death and then the Cataclysm would be robbed of that pleasure." The threat didn't phase Baihumon, who held his ground against Ragnadramon. TK looked at the dragon, only to now notice the same cracks in the air, this time forming behind him. Once it was as large as Ragnadramon, it blew out, sending shards everywhere and leaving a hole in the air behind him. "Protect them if you wish to waste your time, you can't baby-sit them forever..." With that the dragon flew backwards into the hole, disappearing into it's darkness. TK watched as the shards returned to the hole, flying back into place and sealing itself up until it had returned to normal.  
  
TK was relieved to have Ragnadramon gone, but this new Digimon that had appeared held an intimidation factor as strong as the dragon. It was easily three times the height of TK and much longer, looking like a very brutish tiger. He held Kari close, who didn't look anymore thrilled than TK did. The tiger Digimon looked down at them, observing them closely.  
  
"...My apologies for startling you." He said. It took a moment for TK to take in the apology, relieved as he did. "I am Baihumon, the western guardian of the Digital World. Azulongmon told me to expect you." TK released Kari, standing up and then helping Kari to stand. Her eyes were still fixed on Gatomon's motionless form in the middle of the rubble.  
  
"Our Digimon..." She said, still a little in shock from the attack. "Will they be alright?" Baihumon turned to the small Digimon, looking over their condition.  
  
"Do not worry, they are very strong." He said. "Bring them to the temple, they can be healed there. I will escort you there in case Ragnadramon returns." TK was relieved to hear that, the last thing he wanted was another encounter with such an enemy... He and Kari walked over to the rubble left behind by Ragnadramon's last attack, stepping carefully over the loose rocks and debris until they reached their Digimon, both picking them up in their arms. TK could barely stand to look at Patamon, who looked more beat up than he had ever seen him. Kari was just holding Gatomon against her, trying to keep her eyes off of her partner's wounds.  
  
"Let's go..." TK said, trying to get their attention off of the recent events. "The sooner we can get this done the better." Kari simply nodded, obviously trying to focus on their quest as much as possible.  
  
"The temple is just ahead, on the path I cleared out." Baihumon pointed out. "No other Digimon will interfere with our passage." With that Baihumon walked off, back down the path he had so suddenly cleared out upon his entrance. TK and Kari exchanged an unsure glance before following after him, now completely unaware of what to expect.  
  
**********  
  
After a while TK and Kari found themselves walking beside Baihumon through the jungle, which now featured a convenient path all the way to the temple. Their Digimon partners still showed no signs of recovery, both motionless in their arms. TK still found it hard to believe this was done by one single Digimon, even if it was a Mega level.  
  
"Baihumon, what exactly was that Digimon?" TK asked, suddenly curious. "He seemed a lot more powerful than any normal Mega." Baihumon nodded, not stopping or turning his head to explain.  
  
"Ragnadramon is the spawn of the Cataclysm." He explained. "He was born into his Mega level, like myself and the other guardians of the Digital World. His birth took place between realities, giving him even more power. What you saw him do was control the reality around him, shaping it into portals and attacks at his own will." TK had taken a guess he was doing something like that, after seeing other Digimon do similar things. None had any control over it, though, unlike Ragnadramon.  
  
"At least you scared him off before he could do any more damage." Kari said. "There would have been no way to beat him if you didn't..." Baihumon suddenly stopped before hanging his head a little lower, a gesture neither human expected.  
  
"If it were only that easy..." The tiger Digimon said. "What you saw back there was a rouse, just a bluff to make him leave. He wouldn't have destroyed me, knowing it would cause the Digital World to become unbalanced, but even if he did attack I would not have stood a match... His power exceeds my own, I could not have defeated him." TK was surprised to say the least. After knowing how powerful Azulongmon was it was hard to believe another guardian had an equal outside the guardians.  
  
"But we've seen Azulongmon easily beat Mega level Digimon." Kari said, remembering BlackWarGreymon's attempted attack on him. The tiger Digimon shook his head in response.  
  
"Azulongmon would fair no better." Baihumon explained. "Since giving up two of his Digicores to you and your friends, he has become the weakest of the four guardians. I am third strongest and would only fair slightly better. Maybe the strongest of us, but I can not be sure of that..." TK still found that hard to believe, but hearing it from the guardian's own mouth it was hard to dispute. Hearing about the guardians so much, TK suddenly felt a little curious.  
  
"Let's just keep going." TK suggested. "Can you tell us a little more about the guardians of the Digital World? Just to keep off topic for a while..." Baihumon looked back at TK, then nodded, realizing they were probably as stressed out as possible right now. He continued walking, TK and Kari following beside him.  
  
"There are four of us, as you know." He said. "Azulongmon in the east, Ebonwumon to the south, Duchoumon to the north, and myself in the west. Each of us is responsible for maintaining the balance of the Digital World. Without us this world would break down and collide with other worlds, similar to the times this world has collided with the world of darkness and the real world, but on a much larger scale." TK remembered Kari's demonstration on the various worlds and what would happen if they collided. This explained why that didn't happen and he was relieved to know it.  
  
"You said the guardians were born into their Mega forms." Kari said, just now remembering that note. "How is that possible? Did the Digital World just create you four one day?" TK doubted that possibility, and a shake of the head from Baihumon confirmed that.  
  
"Originally the Digital World was maintained by a single Digimon, Goddramon." He explained. "This Digimon commanded immense power, unmatched by any other, and he was responsible for holding the Digital World together. As humans increased their technology and computer networks, however, the Digital World expanded, creating more of a strain on Goddramon to maintain this world. As it grew, his power weakened, and one day he realized he would not survive much longer. Before he was destroyed by the rush of the Digital World's expansion, he divided his power into fourths, creating each guardian, already in Mega form. We then took over, each guarding a different section of this world. We were given the capacity to grow in power, something Goddramon was unable to do, being the highest point of power in this world. We also formed the current balance that the Digital World has to maintain itself, making sure we do not suffer the same fate as our creator." TK didn't know what to say, now learning the history of the Digital World was something he never imagined, nor could he have imagined the levels of depth it reached. Apparently Kari was just as amazed, no longer asking questions. Instead they continued on in silence, expecting to arrive at the temple any time now.  
  
**********  
  
The group walked for another half hour, not speaking or asking further questions. TK looked down at Patamon in his arms, who was only showing a few small signs of recovery, small wing twitches and slightly stronger breathing. He looked over at Kari, who still didn't want to look down at Gatomon's many scratches. He couldn't blame her, if Patamon was that cut up he wouldn't be able to stand seeing him so hurt, either.  
  
"We're here." Baihumon announced. TK looked up, just now noticing they had reached another clearing, but this one was filled with a fairly large temple. It was obviously very old, with moss and ivy growing on the walls and the corners showing some aging. There was a large doorway in front, and over it was a crude, very old painting of a white tiger, obviously symbolizing Baihumon. TK was about to ask something when Baihumon continued forward, eventually entering the temple doorway. TK and Kari followed, unsure of what they were to see.  
  
Inside the temple was dark, only lit by a few torches on the wall. It was in better shape than the exterior, but still with a few cobwebs in the corners and cracks in the walls. Along the hallway were various letters, very much like the ones Izzy was so interested in so long ago. All his years coming to this world and TK still didn't know what a single character meant. The group reached the center, which was very open and tall, with torches along the curved wall to light it well. The circular room lacked detail, save a small altar in the center and a long, stone spike pointing down at it from the ceiling.  
  
"Lay your Digimon on the floor and stand back." Baihumon said, turning to face them. TK and Kari both glanced at each other, both looking for some idea as to what would happen. Not finding an answer, both kneeled to lay their Digimon down, then stood to take a few steps back. "Do not worry. In the confines of this temple I can restore their health." TK and Kari watched as Baihumon concentrated, building up a bright blue aura. The tiger Digimon looked down at the two small Digimon, sending a beam of the blue energy down at the two Digimon, covering them in blue light, letting them vanish within it. By the time Baihumon let up and allowed the aura to die, both Digimon looked like they were back to normal, without a cut or bruise on either one. Kari smiled, walking over quickly and picking up Gatomon. TK did the same to Patamon, waiting for his partner to come around. After a minute he opened his eyes, at first in a daze, but quickly regained his senses.  
  
"Where's Ragnadramon?" Patamon asked quickly. "Did we get him?" TK couldn't help but find some humor in his friend's reaction.  
  
"Sorry, you got your butt kicked." TK said jokingly. Patamon drooped his ears a bit, apparently hoping he had faired better than that.  
  
"We'll get him next time." Gatomon said from Kari's arms, obviously regaining her own composure. "At least we know what were up against now." Kari hugged Gatomon a little tighter, glad she was back to normal.  
  
"Now that you are both feeling better." Baihumon said, getting everyone's attention. "There are things we must discuss about what awaits you." The four knew this was coming eventually, though after seeing Ragnadramon they had to admit to being a little more than worried about what could be after that.  
  
"The Cataclysm..." TK said, knowing what Baihumon was getting at. The tiger Digimon nodded, glad TK was as perceptive as Azulongmon had said. "What is it, exactly? Is it a Digimon?" Baihumon shook his head, sending a feeling of worry into TK.  
  
"Cataclysm is the mistake of the guardians..." Baihumon said. TK could hear some obvious regret in his voice as he spoke. "As you know the Digital World is held together by a constant balance of light and dark that we guardians created to make it easier to maintain this world. Many times this balance is broken by a Digimon such as Myotismon or Apocalymon that brings an unanticipated, evil force into this world. This shifts the balance, making it difficult to keep this world together. Many times the Digidestined, you two especially, have been there to destroy this force and regain the proper balance. Unfortunately this has also lead to the balance shifting the opposite way, removing some of the necessary darkness in the digital world." TK had trouble accepting the idea of necessary evil, but admitted it to being true. Without it, it would be impossible to know what good was. "We did not want to rely on the Digidestined forever, knowing it was wrong to force humans into our affairs. Instead, we decided to go against our usual method of balance. Instead of forming smaller, evil Digimon that could do little harm, we formed this energy into a non-physical form, a contained concentration of the evil energy, just enough to balance this world. This started after your defeat of Apocalymon and was increased by the destruction of Digimon like MaloMyotismon and Diaboromon. Unfortunately we did not anticipate how powerful this concentration became, and it eventually grew a consciousness of its own, breaking free from our control and entering the Digital World. The destruction of Andromon's city was the result of this escape." TK couldn't believe it, to think the guardians were responsible for something so destructive was unreal, more than he could have imagined. Kari was in the same state, not sure what to think.  
  
"How can we beat something that powerful?" Gatomon said, in a more focused mindset than the others. "None of us are nearly as powerful as a guardian, let alone all four of them." Patamon was worried about this answer, feeling a little more than intimidated by all of this.  
  
"That is where Ragnadramon may be an asset." Baihumon explained, now confusing the four even more. "Cataclysm made sure it's own spawn was as strong as the most powerful of guardians, which most likely weakened it a great deal. It is probably hiding somewhere where none of the guardians can find it, waiting to recover the power it sacrificed to create Ragnadramon. All you must worry about is Ragnadramon, if you can defeat him the Cataclysm will be simple to destroy. That is the purpose of your quest." Baihumon turned and looked to the altar, as if expecting something. "Kari, I need you to place your Digivice into this altar." Kari looked at the altar, now noticing it had a small pit in the top of it, big enough for the Digivice to fit. She walked over, pulling out her Digivice as she did, and placed it into the groove, then stepped back to watch. In a few seconds the altar began to glow a dim pink, it's brightest point under the Digivice. She looked up at the spike, noticing it was also glowing pink, but it's color was growing brighter bit by bit. When it became as bright as Kari could stand it fired a pink bolt of energy down into the altar, sending a flash of light that filled the room. TK and Kari had to close their eyes from the intensity of the light. Kari opened her eyes when the light faded, now seeing only her Digivice with the pink glow, which eventually faded with the glow of the altar.  
  
"...What was that?" Kari asked simply, unsure of what just happened. Baihumon walked up to the altar, taking a closer look at the Digivice.  
  
"Your Digivice now contains a fraction of my own power." Baihumon explained. "This along with the power you hold and the power you are yet to gain will be the tool in which you can destroy the Cataclysm with." TK took note on one part in particular, "yet to gain". Somehow he had a bad feeling just hearing that.  
  
"You mean there's more?" TK asked, a worried tone to his voice. After all that had happened just getting to one temple he was worried to learn of this.  
  
"Each guardian has his own temple." Baihumon explained. "Each has sacrificed a piece of their power to give to you. You must venture to each temple and collect this power. Without all four, I can not ensure that you will destroy the Cataclysm." TK felt some relief, it sounded easier than some of the things he was fearing.  
  
"So where are the temples?" Patamon asked. "It's kind of hard to go to places you don't know the location of." Kari walked over to take her Digivice back, looking down at it. Other than the screen glowing very slightly it looked no different despite the power it now held.  
  
"The map Azulongmon gave Kari is improved with each temple you visit." Baihumon explained. "It now shows how to access Azulongmon's temple. You'll find each path is harder than the last, but you need not worry about wild Digimon impeding you. Even the most evil of Digimon know how vital your quest is and will not interfere." TK was relieved to hear that, at least it would be a safer quest than most they had been on.  
  
"Somehow I doubt Ragnadramon cares about that." Gatomon said. "Can't the other guardians stop him?" Baihumon shook his head, again a regretful appearance on his face.  
  
"As it is I risked a great deal leaving my post to aide you." He explained. "Cataclysm's presence in the Digital World makes the four corners more unstable than any evil force we have ever dealt with. The other guardians will not be able to leave their posts to assist you. However I am confident in your ability to defeat Ragnadramon." TK was glad someone was, it helped his own spirits that were still damaged by how easily he had beaten both of their Digimon in their strongest forms.  
  
"So next is Azulongmon..." Kari said, returning her Digivice to her pocket. "How do we find the Cataclysm once we have all four powers?" Baihumon hesitated before regretfully shaking his head.  
  
"That is up to you two alone." He said. "All we know is that it is beyond the reach of any of the guardians, but that could mean any place outside the Digital World, including the worlds of darkness, wishes, even your own. There are also sections of the Digital World that no guardian has authority over, such as the data void you and our friends found yourselves in during the fight with Apocalymon. After all you have been through I have no doubt you will find it, though. I wish you luck in your journey." TK looked over at Kari, hoping for some relief from the sudden pressure he felt in his body. She, unfortunately, looked even more lost possibly in more pressure than he. After all it was her that would carry that power to Cataclysm and her that would destroy it. All he could do was hope this quest would be short and the Cataclysm could be stopped before it could do more damage.  
  
End Chapter 6  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 7 - Gateway  
  
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	7. Gateway

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 7 of 26 - Gateway  
  
The group parted with Baihumon, who had returned to his post in the Digital World's version of limbo, and left the temple with a lot of new information to absorb. They now knew of Ragnadramon's origins, and his level of power, but also the power of what spawned him and what it had in mind. TK wasn't sure how they were supposed to beat something that didn't even have a form, but apparently Kari would have the ability to do it soon. He looked over to her, watching her look over the new map they had received, amazed at her new found destiny. He held down a slight chuckle, realizing that his girlfriend would be the most powerful entity in the Digital World by the time they were done.  
  
"It looks like Azulongmon's temple is pretty far from the nearest monitor..." Kari said. "There's some kind of special pathway leading to it, as well." TK looked at the map, seeing what she meant. It looked like a very long bridge between the monitor and the temple, nothing in between and no other way to access it.  
  
"Maybe it would be better to wait until tomorrow." TK suggested. "After today I think we all need some time off and it may take a whole day just to get across that path." Kari looked over the pathway again, realizing he was probably right. It was easily more than ten times as long as their path through the jungle, if not more, but she also noticed that it passed through a lot of places, including File Island, but didn't make any turns or effort to avoid these obstacles, just straight through them. Kari didn't remember seeing something so long in any of those places, though.  
  
"I guess so..." Kari said. TK noticed something didn't sound right, though, like she wasn't feeling like herself. Something in her voice made TK suddenly worry about Kari.  
  
"Kari?" He asked. "There's something wrong, isn't there?" Kari should have known TK would pick up on that, no matter how well she hid it he could always tell when something was wrong.  
  
"...Why did it have to be me?" Kari asked, not expecting a response. "Why does the Digital World's fate have to depend on me? It's easier when it's just some enemy that everyone in the Digidestined can fight, but I don't know if I can take being the only one that can fight it..." TK should have guessed that was it... He didn't know if he could fully imagine it, being the only hope for an entire world, not to mention the other worlds that were out there. TK walked over to Kari, pulling her into a light embrace, hoping to provide some comfort for her. Kari didn't return the embrace, rather she put her arms to TK's chest, leaning into the embrace for support.  
  
"Let's not worry about that." TK said softly. "This isn't any different from anything else we've faced, it's just a little complicated. All they want us to do is try, we can at least do that. Besides, we've been through too much to let this stop us." Kari was well aware of that, after everything from Myotismon to Armagemon there was little they hadn't faced and defeated together. "Besides, it's not just you. I'll always be here to protect you, so will Patamon and Gatomon." TK and Kari looked down at their Digimon beside them, both watching on.  
  
"You didn't think we wouldn't, did you, Kari?" Patamon asked, smiling to her. It was a good fact to know, raising Kari's spirits a bit.  
  
"You're right..." Kari said, smiling back at the two Digimon. "Still I wish this wasn't so reliant on me." TK wished the same thing, but of course Kari had a power that he lacked, thanks to her inner crest. That's what made her special to the guardians, but at least in TK's view she had a lot more qualifications than that.  
  
"Well it's not like we have to start right away." TK said, letting go of Kari, but still keeping his hands on her waist. "Just relax tonight, don't even think about this quest and we'll continue whenever you're up to it." Kari smiled, glad to hear that she still had some luxuries in this quest.  
  
"Thanks, TK..." Kari said, returning her attention to TK. She leaned forward, quickly putting her lips to TK's, sending a quick jolt through him. Once again Patamon and Gatomon looked on at the scene, but this time they had a little more knowledge of it at least. "Let's go home now... I think I'd like all the time to relax as I can get." TK nodded, letting go of Kari. The two looked around for the path that lead them here, only to find that the digital jungle had already repaired itself and their path had been covered up once again. Fortunately TK found something better, buried in the side of one of the clearing's trees was a monitor, unactivated. He walked over to it, kneeling down in front of it to get a better look. Kari, Gatomon, and Patamon came over to watch as TK pulled some stray vines and roots away from it, finding a switch and turning the monitor on, it's screen flaring to life.  
  
"Well that beats clearing out the jungle to get back to the first one." Gatomon said. TK agreed, but he could have sworn the monitor wasn't there before... Nevertheless he stood up, stepping back and removing his Digivice. Kari did the same, also picking up Gatomon in the process. TK waited for Patamon to fly up, letting him land on his shoulder before holding out his Digivice, letting the monitor absorb both of them and their Digimon, returning to their own world.  
  
**********  
  
That night back in the real world Kari was in a deep sleep, her new found burdens relieved by the chance to relax in her bed and forgotten about as she dreamed. Gatomon, on the other hand, was wide awake, watching her human friend sleep from the foot of the bed. She was feeling her own sense of pressure now. She was supposed to be Kari's guardian, her protector and companion for life. And now Kari had been given the fate of saving the entire Digital World... Gatomon was well aware of TK and Patamon promising to protect her on this quest, but that programmed instinct she was born with was too strong, and now protecting Kari meant protecting the Digital World. As much as the feline Digimon tried, it was still a burden on her mind...  
  
"Sorry, Kari..." Gatomon said quietly, leaving her spot on Kari's bed, walking to the only window in the room. "I'll be back soon..." Gatomon was hoping some fresh air would get her to calm down, hopping up to the window. Luckily Kari liked it open a little at night and Gatomon was able to push it open just enough to squeeze out without waking Kari. She closed it back to where it was, in case Kari woke up and noticed it open. With that taken care of Gatomon was free to leave. From the window's ledge she carefully walked to the side of the window, looking over to the balcony of the Kamiya apartment. Gatomon made a long jump from the ledge to the balcony, making it easily as she had so many times before. This was her usual path to the roof where she usually escaped to for relaxing. Gatomon looked up at her next stunt, jumping to the balcony above and grabbing it with her claws, pulling herself up.   
  
This continued until she pulled herself up to the roof of the apartment building. For her this was an easy trip and lead to one of her favorite spots. From here you could see all of Odaiba, its buildings lit up from the lights through the windows. It looked like a close-up of the stars above, which were bright and shimmering despite the light from the city. The most notable was the large satellite dish just a few blocks from the building, lit up with many different colored lights. Gatomon sat on the edge of the roof, looking over the city and it's lights, letting her new-found pressure leave her.  
  
After a while Gatomon looked up to the stars, then to the moon, bright and full, huge in the skies over Odaiba. This was a mistake, though, bringing back pressures that she had hoped she was rid of.  
  
"...That night..." Gatomon said to herself, remembering out loud. Her mind had drifted back to the night she and Patamon had spied on their human partners and the results of their "experiment". After returning home she remembered sitting in the window for hours after Kari had gone to sleep, looking at the full moon. It was so strange remembering it now, to this moment she wasn't sure if she enjoyed it or regretted it...  
  
"Patamon..." She said, still thinking out loud. "You just had to sneak out that night, didn't you? If you didn't leave to spy on TK I wouldn't have..." Gatomon stopped herself, knowing that was wrong. It was as much her fault as it was hers, she didn't have to leave that night, either.  
  
"Who am I kidding..." She continued. "He was the one thinking that night, I pushed him into that kiss..." Gatomon laid back onto the roof, keeping her eyes fixed on the moon above her. "...If I hadn't done that I wouldn't be torturing myself... I wouldn't have had to lie to him..." She remembered those occasions, telling Patamon in the tree that it was just an experiment, then in that jungle that it was wrong. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but Gatomon knew what she felt from that kiss wasn't just a normal feeling, it was something in her that made it, not the action itself. Gatomon refused to tell Patamon that, though, telling him there was nothing, convincing him it was just from the kiss itself and was normal. It confused her, unsure of what it was or what extent it went to, but it was definitely still there. Just thinking about that moment now made a tightening feeling well up in her, she could feel her heart racing a little faster, as well.  
  
"What's wrong with me..." Gatomon said to herself, sitting up. "I got passed Myotismon, the Digimon Emperor, that world of darkness, just to get hurt even more by one kiss?" It was all she could assume, something had to be wrong with her if she couldn't understand this or get passed it. "I lived most of my life alone until I met Kari, even Wizardmon was only around part of the time. All that time I was in pain, but I endured and moved on... so why do I hurt so much just for getting close to someone..." Gatomon hung her head, doing her best to resist a sudden urge to shed a few tears. Needing to do this made her confusion grow, it was all so powerful just to think about and experience, but she had no idea what it was or how to stop it.  
  
"That's it, I have to figure this out, one way or another..." Gatomon said. "I have to know... why someone that makes me happy also makes me hurt..." She stood up, wiping away the still-forming tears from her eyes before they fell, trying her best to remain strong. "Patamon... I'm so sorry... if I hurt you..." She did more than she could believe, lying to him telling him the kiss was just an experiment, keeping him from knowing how she felt... It was too much for her to stand. Gatomon fell to her knees, tears now rolling from her eyes, unable to hold them back any longer. This went on for a few minutes until Gatomon put her gloved claws to her eyes, trying to stop. Even after Wizardmon died in front of her, she only cried briefly, able to keep her mind from it. Now this... She didn't know how this could be so much stronger, harder to contain... She just knew that it was and that it had to stop...  
  
**********  
  
The next day TK and Patamon again met with Kari at her house, this time a little earlier, but this was by Kari's decision, despite TK telling her not to be in such a rush. He sat there, watching her loading up her computer for their trip, still wondering what kept her going after yesterday and all the pressure suddenly dropped on her shoulders. He had to admire her determination, what kept her going was beyond his understanding.  
  
"Okay, all set." Kari announced, standing up from her computer chair. This felt like the old days with Davis, Yolei, and Cody, going into the Digital World almost daily in this fashion. Those days, though TK was shocked to admit it, were a lot less complicated.  
  
"Somehow I'm not looking forward to such a long walk..." Gatomon said. TK looked over to the feline Digimon, sitting at the edge of Kari's bed with Patamon, but she looked exhausted, a lot more tired than usual for some reason.  
  
"It can't be that long." Patamon said, trying to reassure her. "We'll just get started on it and before we know it we'll be at Azulongmon's temple." Gatomon gave her best effort to smile, despite being no more relieved than before.  
  
"He's right, Gatomon." TK said. "Besides, it's not like you'll walk the entire way, if you get too tired it's not like we can't carry you." This was just a guess, though, mainly since Kari seemed to prefer carrying Gatomon rather than making her walk.  
  
"We?" Gatomon asked. "Last time I checked you never even held me once." TK smiled nervously, just now realizing that same fact. Gatomon smiled in victory, making Kari giggle a bit.  
  
"Alright, if you two are done." She said, picking up Gatomon from the bed. "Let's get going. We need all the time we can get." TK nodded, picking up Patamon. Both Digidestined withdrew their Digivices, aiming them at the now-open Digiport on Kari's computer. A familiar light came from the monitor, engulfing them and absorbing them into the Digital World.  
  
After a moment the four had arrived back in the Digital World, but now it felt very familiar. They were back in the western Digital World, in Azulongmon's territory. TK was quick to notice that, even though it felt the same, they were in an area he had never seen before. It was a cliff of some kind, overlooking the digital ocean, but at the edge was a massive gate of some kind. It was a steel circle with a stone ramp leading into it. The circle had stones on it, each with a different symbol on it that looked like the writing Izzy had found in so many places. In the middle of the gate it looked strange, like there was water suspended in the circle, reflective and clear at the same time.  
  
"Is this the beginning of the path?" TK said, not sure of what he was seeing. Kari pressed the switch on her Digivice, displaying the map of the western Digital World. It displayed the long path to Azulongmon's temple, with their indicator right at the beginning of it.  
  
"I guess so..." Kari replied. Gatomon jumped from Kari's arms, apparently reawakened by returning to her home world, and walked up to the gate, looking over it.  
  
"Doesn't look like any path I've ever seen..." Gatomon stated. She walked up the ramp, toward the field in the middle of the circle. Cautiously she moved a claw toward it, trying to see if it was a portal. When her claw touched, however, it felt like a solid wall. Curious, Gatomon stepped closer, setting a hand on it. Indeed it felt firm, like a solid metal wall instead of this liquid-like portal.  
  
"Maybe it's not a gateway..." Gatomon concluded, stepping back from the circle. TK doubted that, letting go of Patamon, who took to the air, and stepped forward himself, walking to the circle.  
  
"I doubt it's an oversized magnifying lens..." He said, stepping onto the ramp. Kari watched as TK got within a foot of the ring, now trying the same experiment as Gatomon. This time, however, his hand passed through without any struggle. He removed it quickly, now confused about this mysterious construct.  
  
"So much for the magnifying lens theory." Patamon said, flying closer. He landed on TK's shoulder, now also testing the portal with his wing. He had the same result as Gatomon, however, his wing just brushing the face of the gate. Kari was still watching, taking in everything.  
  
"Maybe only humans can pass through." She said. TK had a feeling that was right, he didn't have any other explanation. "Why would a gate in the Digital World only allow humans, though?" TK had the same question, it didn't make any sense. Gatomon walked away from the portal and back over to Kari, trying to form an idea as she walked.  
  
"...It's a fail safe." Gatomon announced, turning to face everyone. TK turned, hoping to get the rest of this theory. "Baihumon told us that Azulongmon was the weakest of the four Guardians. If that's true then he would need some kind of protection against other Digimon, so he has this gate to prevent any Digimon from getting to him." Well that would explain half of it, of course TK was more interested in the other half.  
  
"So why can only humans enter?" He asked the feline Digimon. "As it is the only humans in the Digital World are the Digidestined." Gatomon wasn't sure of why this was, either, until TK reminded her of that fact, giving her an idea.  
  
"That's probably exactly why." Gatomon explained. "Azulongmon is the only Guardian that keeps in contact with the Digidestined, it makes sense that they would be the only ones able to go to him." Now it made perfect sense. Unfortunately this meant more than just a safety precaution.  
  
"That means we can't go in with you..." Patamon said. "What if Ragnadramon comes back? We can't protect you there." Exactly what TK was afraid of, and with how long the path was he was also worried about Ragnadramon attacking their Digimon while they were gone.  
  
"Don't worry about us, Patamon." Kari said. "It looks like there's no way to find the path except with the gateway, he can't get to us." TK hoped she was right, as it was Ragnadramon had already proven he could find them and the way he appeared probably wasn't too limited on range.  
  
"What happens when we get to the other side, then?" TK asked to Kari. "It will take a long time to get back here, I don't want to leave Patamon and Gatomon alone for that long, if Ragnadramon can't get onto this path he can still get here." Kari hadn't realized this before, now making her worry, as well.  
  
"You worry too much." Gatomon said confidently. "There's a way to meet you there." She pointed a claw to a spot on the side of the ramp leading into the portal. TK looked, finding a monitor he hadn't seen before. It was a little small, though, probably not the kind to leave the Digital World with. He walked over, kneeling down once he reached it to get a better look. TK reached over and turned a dial on the monitor, turning it on. Rather than flashing to life, however, it instead displayed a map that looked like the path on Kari's own map. This one featured two indicators at both ends of the path. The one on their end was active, but the one on the other side was still dead, probably the monitor that this one was linked to.  
  
"Looks like we can take this as a shortcut if both are on." TK said. "That still means me and Kari have to make the trip across..." TK stood up from the monitor, rejoining the others in front of the portal's ramp. He was glad to know the trip would only be one way, not looking forward to making such a long trip twice, especially with their Digimon vulnerable.  
  
"Let's get it over with, then." Kari said. "I don't want to leave them alone, either, but that means we'll have to cross as fast as possible. We might as well start now." TK nodded regretfully, still not happy with the idea of leaving Patamon and Gatomon behind. He watched Kari start up the ramp, walking up to the portal. He followed soon after, joining her at her side in front of it. TK turned back to Patamon and Gatomon, who were watching them walk off.  
  
"Keep an eye on that monitor." He instructed. "As soon as the other indicator comes on, enter and join us on the other side." The two nodded, both hoping that wouldn't take too long. He turned back to the portal, suddenly nervous about entering, with no idea what to expect behind it. Patamon and Gatomon watched as TK and Kari joined hands, stepping through at the same time. As they entered the portal bent a bit before engulfing their forms, leaving only ripples in the surface that eventually faded away.  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Patamon said, still looking at the portal. Gatomon turned her attention to him, now starting to worry herself.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about." She said, trying to quell her own worry. "Ragnadramon can't find this location or the path they're on now, all we have to do is wait." Patamon shook his head, knowing all of that already.  
  
"No, it's not that..." He replied. "It's something else... I don't know what it is, I just feel like something bad is going to happen on that path..." Gatomon turned and looked at the portal, now appearing just as it did when they arrived. She began to worry more, knowing Patamon had good instincts, but also because she was starting to get that same feeling, and it was becoming worse by the second.  
  
End Chapter 7  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 8 - Highroad  
  
Author's Note: Recently I've had a reviewer constantly reviewing and bringing up the same thing, with nothing beneficial from the review at all. To him and anyone else with a problem with anything in my story, please e-mail me at Scyther247@aol.com or CyberDracomon@aol.com rather than leaving it in a review with no way to get back to you. Thank you.  
  
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	8. Highroad

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 8 of 26 - Highroad  
  
TK opened his eyes, which had been closed since he first walked into the portal. He found himself standing beside Kari on a stone platform attached to a bridge, straight and extending beyond his view. He looked around, finding that the bridge was somewhere high in the sky, seeing nothing but the tops of the clouds all around. He looked behind for the gateway, finding the circle there but without the portal, meaning this was a one way trip whether they liked it or not. The bridge before them had a wall on both sides, relieving his fear of falling off, and was wide enough for the two to walk side-by-side.  
  
"...It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?" Kari said, who was also looking at their new surroundings. Little was hardly the word TK would have used, but she was right that it was definitely overwhelming.  
  
"It didn't look this long on the map..." TK said, his eyes now fixed on the edge of the path far in the distance.   
  
"Let's try not to think about it." Kari said, now looking toward TK. "If we just start walking and not think about anything else the time should pass quickly." TK was hoping the same thing, but something about the absolute length of this bridge was too much to put out of his mind so easily. TK took another look back at the now closed portal, unable to shake the fact that they left Patamon and Gatomon there alone. He then looked over to Kari, just now noticing she was carrying her backpack with her, which looked fairly full. TK wondered why she would bother to carry the extra weight on such a long walk, but didn't bother to ask.  
  
"I still don't like this..." TK admitted. "I know they can take care of themselves but I still hate to make them wait, and from the looks of it they'll be waiting a long time..." Kari had the same feeling, but was apparently doing a better job keeping it in check. Still she knew how he felt, not only knowing how close he was to Patamon but with her own connection to Gatomon.  
  
"It won't be as long as you think, just relax." Kari said, trying to reassure him. "Besides it's too late now. All we can to is get to the temple and meet up with them there as soon as possible." TK hesitated before nodding, turning back to the pathway before them. The two began walking, the ominous path still looking like it went on forever. Just then TK heard a small noise behind him, alerting him. He quickly turned, his fear of being without Patamon taking hold of him. Nothing was behind them, though, just the closed portal. TK looked down to see the cause of the noise, the small box he carried with the engagement ring he intended to give Kari, the same he always carried "just in case", had somehow slipped from his pocket and was now open from the hard landing. He quickly panicked, dropping to his knees to grab hold of the box and snapping it shut, worried about it being damaged or of Kari seeing it.  
  
"TK what was that?" Kari asked from ahead. "Did you drop something?" TK breathed a little easier, glad she hadn't seen what was in the box. He had his back to her now, as well, keeping her from seeing the item at all.  
  
"Oh, just my D-3." He replied. "You go ahead, I'll catch up." Kari left it at that, turning back down the road and continuing on. TK stood up, checking to see if she was far enough away, then checked the inside of the box. To his relief the ring wasn't damaged, not a diamond out of place, and other than the satin being a little color worn from being in TK's pocket so much even the box was in good shape. He replaced it into his pocket, making sure it was as far down as possible, then turned and continued down the bridge, his steps a little faster than usual to catch up to Kari.  
  
**********  
  
"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon screamed, slashing her opponent viciously with her clawed gloves. It sustained no damage, though, and only succeeded in increasing the sweat on Gatomon's forehead from her constant attempts at attack. She stepped back, readying her claws for the next strike.  
  
"Gatomon, that's enough." Patamon said from behind her. "It doesn't matter how any times you hit it, that portal doesn't open for Digimon." He had been watching her slash away uselessly at the portal for an hour now with no success, her claws uselessly scratching against the surface without even making ripples. What was worse was that they had been waiting two hours now, not only adding to their worry but their boredom, as well.  
  
"It just makes me feel better..." She replied, turning to face Patamon, who was at the bottom of the ramp. "I can't stand waiting here for a sign that they made it safely, there's too much that could happen on that path!" Patamon felt the same way, of course, and he still had that feeling of something bad nagging in his mind, making it worse. Still he hated to see Gatomon so upset, but knew little he could do to calm her down.  
  
"Gatomon, is there really anything else we can do?" Patamon asked, attempting to get her to think about their situation. "The gate's closed, we can't get to them now." Of course Gatomon was all too aware of that fact, though she didn't like it. She turned from the portal and walked back down the ramp, rejoining Patamon at the bottom.  
  
"So what do we do until they're on the other side?" Gatomon asked. Patamon side stepped around Gatomon, walking over to the monitor on the side of the gateway's platform.  
  
"For starters, we keep an eye on this screen like we're supposed to." He replied. Gatomon was expecting an answer with a bit more of a time-killing element to it. "We could just talk, we haven't gotten to in a few days with everything that's happened." Gatomon took a second before realizing that was true, the last time they talked was to resolve their own confusion about their "encounter". The feline Digimon walked over to Patamon, finding a spot on the gateway's platform to lean against as she sat down.  
  
"Alright then, what is there to talk about?" She asked, looking over to her companion. Unfortunately Patamon hadn't thought that far out, knowing little Gatomon would find interesting.  
  
"Well, what's happened in your life, other than Kari's quest?" He asked, hoping to get her to start off. Besides that he was often interested in her own life, almost more than his own. It was strange to think that way, even if it was true. Gatomon took a second to think, trying to remember passed her little episode on the roof the night before.  
  
"Well, I know Tai called the other day." Gatomon said. "Him and Sora just moved into a new apartment." Somehow Patamon had hoped for more, he knew something more than a phone call had to happen in their lives.  
  
"That's the best you have?" Patamon asked with a smile. "Even I know your life isn't that dull." Gatomon didn't know whether to feel insulted or challenged, though he was right, it was a meager attempt. It got her wondering, though...  
  
"So what about you?" Gatomon retorted. "What's so big in your life? If you can do better, please do." Again Patamon felt the pressure of this conversation dropped onto his shoulders. At least this time he as a bit more prepared, as he had been thinking of what to say and had come up with something good.  
  
"Oh, I think I can." Patamon replied. "Think you can keep a secret?" Hearing this sparked a great deal of interest in Gatomon. She often heard secrets from Kari but it was very rare when Patamon had one to tell.  
  
"Depends on the secret." Gatomon said in a kidding tone. "What is it?" Patamon smiled slyly, a sense of pride in having this knowledge to pass to Gatomon.  
  
"Well, TK's been talking to me a lot lately about Kari." He began. "Last time he did he told me he's been waiting to actually propose to Kari, he showed me the ring he bought for her and everything!" Gatomon's eyes widened at the news, a little in disbelief and a little in surprise.  
  
"You're serious?" She asked. "I knew he would eventually but I didn't think he was planning on it so soon." Patamon nodded to confirm her disbelief, somewhat proud of being able to surprise her.  
  
"Well that's TK, I guess." Patamon said. "If he believes in something, he's going to do it." Gatomon couldn't help but think about Kari now, where she would stand when TK did ask. It didn't take her long to realize what Kari would do.  
  
"She'll accept, you know." Gatomon said. "Kari has loved TK for as long as I can remember, they've spent the last ten years together. If TK asked her to spend the rest of their lives together there's no way she would pass it up." Patamon was glad to hear that, not only for TK's sake but also because Kari was his best human friend other than TK. If he wanted anyone to be happy together it was those two. It did make him worry about the two even more, though, as it was he was well aware that they couldn't be married if they didn't survive the quest. He glanced at the monitor to his right, the marker on the other side of the path still dead, now wondering how long that road really was.  
  
**********  
  
TK was now beginning to pant slightly from the length of their walk, even with the shape he kept to play basketball this was too much. He looked down at the D-3 in his hand, reading the small digital clock on it's face that read four o'clock. They had been walking since noon without stopping and still hadn't reached the end, nor had any sign that they were any closer. TK looked back on occasion just to make sure they were actually moving and now both directions looked exactly the same, with endless bridge in front and behind. He was beginning to worry they were actually going in a circle and knowing the Digital World it was very possible to go in circles on a straight bridge.  
  
"Let's stop here for a while." Kari suddenly said. "We're going to be too exhausted if we don't take a break." TK had no argument with that, stopping and leaning against the stone railing of the bridge. Just then he realized it wasn't just his own exhaustion weakening him, but also his hunger, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and he didn't expect the path to be this long. He tried not to think about it, watching Kari sit down on the bridge, leaning against the wall that made the bridge's sides. Her backpack was off her shoulders and leaning against the wall, as well.  
  
"Okay, I have to ask..." TK said, sitting down across from her. "What is in that backpack? You knew how long this was going to be, why bring the extra weight?" Kari smiled to TK before reaching over for her backpack, unzipping it and reaching inside.  
  
"Because unlike you, I was expecting this." She replied, pulling a sandwich from her backpack, plastic wrapped to keep it together for so long. TK couldn't believe he hadn't thought of that, even if it was a longer path than he thought.  
  
"Why didn't I think of that..." He said to himself, now paying for his lack of insight. Kari giggled a bit, then tossed the sandwich to him. TK eagerly caught it, thankful all those years of basketball made him a good catch.  
  
"I was also expecting for both of us." She said, again reaching into her backpack and withdrawing a second sandwich. TK smiled to Kari before unwrapping the sandwich and biting into it. He was too hungry to tell what kind it was, not that he cared at the moment. The sandwich didn't fair so well against TK's hunger, not lasting very long. When he finished TK looked up at Kari, then smiled nervously, now realizing Kari had barely finished two bites so far.  
  
"Guess I'm hungrier than I thought..." TK said, a little embarrassed at his own eating. Kari just smiled back, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Well you can have another one, if you promise to chew it, that is." She said. TK chuckled nervously before nodding, silently accepting her terms. Again Kari pulled a sandwich from her backpack and tossed it to TK, who again caught it. This time he took more care with his work, unwrapping it and taking a normal bite from it. The sandwich tasted like ham and cheese, even if he could barely taste the cheese. The two ate in silence, neither wanting to waste anymore energy than they had to. They both knew this path didn't get any shorter and they still had hours of walking to do. Kari finished her sandwich, but didn't reach for another, apparently filled by one. TK was halfway through his second when he realized he was already getting full, whatever Kari put into the sandwiches, she made sure it was filling.  
  
"My legs are still sore..." Kari said. "Give me a few more minutes before we keep going." TK swallowed the bite he had just taken upon hearing this. He knew Kari always put other before herself but TK wouldn't let her go that far.  
  
"Kari, we're not in that big of a rush." TK said. "Take all the time you need to rest, we can keep going when you're up to it." Kari shook her head, then stood up, leaning against the wall as she did. TK set his sandwich down before standing up to face her.  
  
"TK, you heard what Baihumon said." She argued. "It doesn't matter if I'm exhausted or not, the Digital World is depending on me." TK looked down at her legs, now noticing they were trembling slightly, too weak to keep her up. He stepped over, taking hold of her arms for more support. The look in her eyes showed more determination than TK could remember seeing in them, it made his own task all that much harder.  
  
"It matters to me, Kari." TK said, a calming tone to his voice. "The Digital World will still be here in the next minute, but if you overwork yourself this soon that may change. Pace yourself, at least for today, until we get to the end of this bridge." Kari looked down from TK's eyes, not wanting to reply to his face.  
  
"TK, I can't... This is more important that me." Kari said. TK put a hand under her chin, gently raising her gaze back to his.  
  
"Kari, there's nothing in any world more important to me than you." He said gently. "I hate seeing you do this to yourself. The Digital World will be fine, but if you aren't okay to save it later then it won't be. Just wait an hour, one hour. Then we'll walk the rest of the way." Kari paused, suddenly realizing she wouldn't win this battle. In a sense she couldn't help but be flattered TK would be this concerned about her when he knew what was on the line, but she also realized he was right, it wouldn't do them any good if they made it to the end of the quest and she was too tired to do anything.  
  
"...One hour, but then we keep going." She said, finally giving in. TK smiled before kissing her gently, showing his gratitude. Kari felt the same surge in her heart she usually did from his kiss, but somehow weaker. Maybe she really was more tired than she would let herself believe. Reluctantly Kari broke the kiss to sit back down, letting her legs rest again. TK returned to his own spot, withdrawing his Digivice and setting a timer to go off in an hour. He set it down by his side, seeing the remains of his sandwich as he did. TK picked it up, along with it's wrapping, and rewrapped what was left, this time preparing for a hunger fit later down the path.  
  
**********  
  
Patamon yawned slightly, his eyes getting heavy from constantly glancing at the monitor. The marker had yet to flash to life and it was getting tiring. He and Gatomon were still leaning against the platform of the gateway, now long out of chat subjects, waiting for a sign that TK and Kari had made it to the other side. He glanced over to Gatomon, who looked like her previous exhaustion was starting to catch up to her. Her eyes were half closed and in the last half hour she had been constantly yawning, but was still struggling to stay alert.  
  
"Gatomon, did you even sleep last night?" Patamon said, trying to joke and ask at the same time. She looked over to him, trying to open her eyes as best she could.  
  
"I'm sorry..." She said. "Guess I'm a couple of catnaps short today." Patamon had known Gatomon too long to be fooled by her attempt at consciousness. He stood from his spot and stepped closer, taking a seat beside her.  
  
"If you want to take a nap I can watch the monitor for both of us." Patamon offered. Gatomon smiled, but shook her head.  
  
"No thanks..." She replied. "...Just spare me a shoulder so I don't have to hold my head up..." Patamon smiled, then adjusted his wing to expose his side better. Gatomon leaned over, putting her head on Patamon's shoulder for comfort.  
  
"You don't have to force yourself like this, you know." Patamon said. "You're going to wear yourself out before we even get to see Kari and TK again." He looked over for her to respond, but saw she had already succumb to her exhaustion, now asleep against his shoulder. He smiled slightly, noticing how peaceful she looked when she slept. For some reason, though, he suddenly wished the signal on the monitor wouldn't go off so soon. He looked over at it, almost happy that it was still inactive.  
  
When Patamon looked back to Gatomon he noticed something new, the fact that she was shivering a bit. He hadn't realized how cold it was on the cliff, probably from the built-in wind breakers on his head. That thought did give him an idea, though. Very slowing Patamon adjusted himself and Gatomon, moving himself behind her until she was leaning against him like a pillow. He then took his wings and spread them out as wide as he could, then wrapped his wings around Gatomon as best he could, blanketing her. He watched her shivering form slowly come to a stop, resting comfortably against him. Patamon smiled again, glad this was helping her. He could now feel the cold air flowing across the cliff, but somehow didn't care as long as Gatomon didn't feel them. Besides, something inside him felt infinitely warmer, the same feeling he had been having around Gatomon for the last few days. Ever since that kiss... that symbol of love TK and Kari had inadvertently shown them. He looked on at Gatomon's sleeping form in his wings, thought running rampant through his mind, but coming back to the same conclusion. Patamon understood now, this warm passion he felt was love, love for the feline Digimon he had known for most of his life. Somehow the word didn't even seem to be strong enough, but if that was the only one he could use to describe it, then he had no choice. He loved Gatomon, and now knew it, and if the sudden epiphany had done anything else, it had just strengthened those feelings even more. It was a lot to take in at once, but Patamon hoped he would have a lifetime to sort it all out.  
  
End Chapter 8  
  
Next: Chapter 9 - Intentions   
  
Author's Note: The March 23rd episode of Digimon has officially named all 4 Digital guardians. Previously I was going by names found on the D-Terminal toy, but with these new names I've had to change my story names around. Ebonwumon in my story is now Duchoumon and Zhuqiaomon in my story is now Ebonwumon. I've changed Chapter 6 to accommodate, but instead of Sovrans the term Guardians will remain since it was what was used in 02.  
  
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	9. Intentions

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 9 of 26 - Intentions  
  
It was now nearing five o'clock and TK's legs were still a little sore, getting very little relief from the hour of rest. He was starting to regret bargaining such a short time period out of Kari, who was looking a little impatient, but her legs hadn't even twitched in the last hour so at least she was resting them as best as she could. TK reached for his D-3, still set to go off at five, hoping he could at least delay the timer a bit longer. Just as he took hold, though, the timer went off, beeping loudly. TK quickly turned it off, but it was too late as Kari had already taken the chance to stand.  
  
"That's one hour." Kari said, her voice sounding very glad the time was up. TK replaced his Digivice and stood, groaning slightly as he did, his legs still strained from the constant use.  
  
"You sure I can't talk another half hour out of you?" TK said, knowing the answer already. Kari smiled at him, almost in silent apology.  
  
"Sorry, but you picked the time, not me." She replied. "We can walk a bit slower this time, though. To be honest my legs are still sore from the last five hours." TK smiled a bit, glad she would at least admit it this time.  
  
"Well the temple can't be that much farther." He said. "Check the map, maybe we're closer than we think." Kari withdrew her Digivice and pressed the button to display the map. TK studied it, finding their marker almost three quarters of the way across the path. He was glad to see it that far down the path, the constant walking was too much to take much longer.  
  
"That's better than I thought." Kari said, closing the map and putting her D-3 away. "Maybe we could have rested longer." Hearing that made TK wish they had checked the map before agreeing to only an hour's rest. Still being closer than he thought gave him a bit of a moral boost.  
  
"Nah, if we're this close, let's just get it over with and get to the temple." He said. "We can rest all we want at home once we're done at the temple." Somehow Kari preferred that idea, better to get the next temple as soon as possible and rest later.  
  
"What happened to pacing ourselves?" She asked. "I thought you were the one concerned about pushing ourselves too far." TK grinned nervously a bit, not sure himself how his attitude changed.  
  
"Maybe this long walk has a way of changing someone's mind." He guessed. "I want to get to the other side as soon as possible now, not only to get off this bridge but to see Patamon again." Kari had almost forgotten that their Digimon were still expecting them to open the gateway for them.  
  
"Yeah, Gatomon, too." She added. "I wonder what they've been doing all this time..." TK had wondered the same thing, realizing the time he's been with Kari on this bridge haven't exactly been the most exciting ever.  
  
"Don't worry about them, they're both resourceful." He assured her. "I'm sure they're fine... but just in case let's get going." Kari nodded, starting back down the path with TK beside her, both now in a bit of a hurry to get to the end of the pathway.  
  
**********  
  
Gatomon slowly regained her senses as she woke up from her catnap, her eyes still closed. She felt a strange warmness over her, like there was a blanket on her, but somehow much more comforting. She opened her eyes, seeing two leathery wings draped over her from the shoulders. She guessed Patamon was behind her and used his wings to blanket her. Gatomon couldn't help but think about how sweet the gesture was. She also heard a light snore behind her, meaning Patamon must have dozed off, too.  
  
As carefully as she could, Gatomon stood up, brushing Patamon's wings to the side. She felt a sharp pain go through her back as she stood, making her flinch. Sleeping against Patamon may have been comfortable but it bent her back in some weird position. Gatomon shook it off and took a few steps away from him before turning, seeing Patamon's sleeping form. It was hard to believe when she first met this orange hamster Digimon all she could see was how immature he was, like a newly hatched Digimon. Of course now she had known him for much longer, ten years now. All she could see now was the most important Digimon in her life. Before he was childish, quick to throw a fit, even cried the second something sad happened. Now he was caring, sweet, friendly... Thinking about all of this made Gatomon rethink much of her thoughts on Patamon, realizing how important he was to her and that she couldn't see her life playing out without him in it. Just the thought of that gave her a warm feeling in her, unexplainable but at the same time very welcome.  
  
"...Gatomon..." Patamon whispered in his sleep, rolling over on his side a bit. Gatomon watched on, not sure what to think. Was he dreaming about her? She didn't have much time to study him further as he woke up, regaining alertness faster than Gatomon had. He also probably only fell asleep from boredom rather than the exhaustion Gatomon had fallen asleep from.  
  
"Have a good nap?" Gatomon said, greeting him as he woke up. Patamon looked at her with a bit of confusion, unaware he even fell asleep.  
  
"Guess I dozed off..." He said, standing from his seat against the wall. "How long have you been awake?" Patamon stepped closer, looking Gatomon over quickly. She looked like she was still a little tense from the unusual sleeping position.  
  
"I just woke up a second ago." She said. "I thought for a second I'd have to wait for you to wake up, this place is too boring to be left alone." Patamon had to agree, which was probably why he fell asleep to begin with.  
  
"You know me, I wouldn't leave you alone, even if I am unconscious." Patamon joked. Gatomon giggled a bit, but the sudden movement aggravated her back again, sending a pain through it and making Gatomon flinch from the sudden pain. Such an action was easily caught by Patamon. "Gatomon, what's wrong?" The feline Digimon shook her head, not wanting to worry him.  
  
"It's nothing." She said, trying to reassure him. "Just slept weird laying against you, it'll go away. " Now Patamon felt bad, he only thought about how to keep her warm, he didn't think about how she slept against him. He took a second to think of how to correct his mistake, trying to recall how TK handled things like this with Kari. Unable to remember when TK had use wings to keep Kari warm, however, he went with the next closest thing.  
  
"Gatomon, sit down." Patamon said. "Let me try and massage it out." Gatomon looked at him with confused eyes, not sure how to take this offer.  
  
"Patamon, it's nothing, it'll work itself out." She said. Gatomon jumped up, attempting to show Patamon that her back was already feeling fine. Upon landing, however, that same sting of pain hit. She tried to hold back any reaction from it, but she hardly convinced Patamon.  
  
"Gatomon, please let me try." He pleaded. "It's my fault it hurts in the first place, at least let me try and make up for it." Gatomon couldn't help but feel flattered by this whole ordeal, and knew she wasn't going to win this one.  
  
"Alright then." Gatomon said in defeat, carefully sitting back down on the ground. She curled her tail up and laid it on the ground behind her so it wouldn't get in the way. Patamon walked around her and stood behind her, gently placing his small paws against her back. He was trying to recall how TK did this when Kari had a sore back, remembering he always started higher up, where the neck met the shoulders. Patamon gently squeezed with his paws, sending a surge through Gatomon's upper back, but not an unwelcome one.  
  
"There, how's that?" Patamon asked, continuing his massage. Patamon could only purr in response, though she couldn't even remember the last time she responded to anything like that. The luxury of this wasn't something she was used to, living so much of her life trying to be tougher than others. Meanwhile Patamon was still trying to remember what he saw TK do in this situation. He thought of moving to her neck but it wasn't the problem, so instead he went lower, pushing his thumbs into her upper back. He could feel her shoulder blades, using them to guide his thumbs down her back.  
  
"...A little lower..." Gatomon managed to say, still relaxing under the backrub. Patamon responded my moving down a bit, now in the middle of her back. Her purr suddenly jumped in volume as Patamon hit them main spot that was sore. He picked up on it, focusing more on that area around the spot. Gatomon sat with her eyes closed, relaxing under Patamon's massage. He continued for around ten minutes, making sure he covered her entire back, then stepped back to give her room. Patamon just now noticed his hands were sore from the constant effort, somehow while he was massaging Gatomon he didn't notice.  
  
"Thanks, Patamon." Gatomon said, standing up and stretching out. "I don't think my back has felt that good in a long time." Patamon smiled, again forgetting his hands were sore, now just glad she was feeling better.  
  
"Don't mention it." He replied. "Like I said, it was kind of my fault in the first place." Gatomon turned to look at Patamon, smiling at him. Seemed like everything he had been doing today was for her benefit, first he kept her from getting bored with the conversation, then keeping her warm with his own wings, now the backrub. Of course he did things for her before today but never to such an extent. Free from exhaustion and now of her sore back, Gatomon suddenly remembered what they were supposed to be doing.  
  
"I forgot about the monitor." Gatomon said, now walking over to it. She quickly glanced at it, but to her dismay it hadn't changed.  
  
"Don't worry, they'll get there soon enough." Patamon said, reassuring her before she could even complain about it. "We just have to keep busy until then." That was what the feline Digimon was afraid of, the cliff was barren and even behind the monitor they appeared from was barren for as far as they could see. There wasn't even a tree to climb for miles.  
  
"How do we do that?" She asked. "We ran out of things to say hours ago." That wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want to bring up anything else she had to say for   
  
"We'll think of something, we can't be completely out of things to talk about." He said. Gatomon had known him too long, knowing he was probably as desperate for something to do or say as she was. Her thoughts again shifted to something Kari had told her, something Patamon should know... Gatomon figured it was as good of a time as any, she just hoped he would take it well.  
  
"...Hey, Patamon?" Gatomon said, now decided. "Think you can keep a secret?" Patamon's ears perked up a bit, curious by this sudden request.  
  
"Of course, what is it?" He asked, eager to know. Gatomon shook her head, fearing he didn't understand.  
  
"Patamon, I'm serious." She continued. "You can't tell this to TK no matter what, okay?" Patamon wasn't sure what she was getting at, but it made his anticipation only grow further.  
  
"Alright, I promise I won't tell." He said. Gatomon nodded in approval, then walked closer to Patamon, bending a bit to reach his ear. She cupped one of her paws over his ear, making sure he heard every word of this secret.  
  
**********  
  
TK was now dragging his feet a bit as he walked, again getting tired of the constant movement. The end still seemed nowhere in sight and they had been walking for what seemed like forever. He looked down at the Digivice in his hand, reading 6:30 on it's face. The sun was going down and the sky was turning orange, signaling the Digital World was ready for night. He looked forward, realizing he let Kari get farther ahead of him, but she had stopped and was leaning against the wall, her arms holding her up on top of it, staring out into the sky to the west. TK looked over, seeing her looking at the sun setting over the endless span of clouds around them. He stepped closer, still watching her stare at the horizon.  
  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kari asked. TK stood beside her, now looking at the sunset himself. He had to agree, so many colors were coming from the clouds and sky it that it made a sunset in their world almost dull.   
  
"I wish it wasn't so hard to see, though..." TK said. "It's a great view but the trip to see it kind of ruins it." Kari smiled a bit, just glad she actually got a chance to see it.  
  
"Well I'm sure it's not the only place in the Digital World with this view." Kari replied. "You just have to work to get to this one." TK knew that was probably the case, this couldn't be the only place in the Digital World that was found in the clouds.  
  
"I guess so." TK said. "Maybe once this quest is over we can see the view from them." Kari looked over at him, smiling at him faintly.  
  
"Yeah..." She said. There was a tone to her voice TK couldn't place, but it wasn't noticeable enough to worry about. He returned his glance to the clouds in front of him, watching the sun as it continued to illuminate them, changing their colors with every second it continued to set.  
  
"This whole quest could be longer than we think, who knows when we'll have another peaceful moment like this..." TK hadn't thought about that fact, from what Baihumon said the quest seemed short enough, but here they were taking an entire day just to make it to one of the temples. Who knew how long the next two would take to reach.  
  
"Well that's why we're on this quest, right?" TK said. "Once we've finished, we'll have plenty of peaceful moments together." Kari looked over to him, making an attempt to smile, an attempt TK could easily see through.  
  
"...Yeah..." She said hesitantly. Again something about the tone in her voice made TK worry a bit, but decided not to question her. He turned his attention back to the sunset over the clouds, trying to clear his thoughts in the peaceful setting. Unfortunately trying to do that just brought up his most common thought, the engagement ring sitting in his pocket. He looked over to Kari, who was lost in the view, smiling as she watched. TK decided there, even if the timing wasn't the best, the setting was more than he could have asked for.  
  
"Kari?" TK began, suddenly becoming very nervous. She looked over to him, a curious look on her face. "We've been together a long time, right?" Kari's curious look turned to one of confusion.  
  
"Longer than I can remember." She answered. "You know that, though. What are you getting at?" TK's nervousness only increased, knowing this was the moment he had tried to work up to for months.  
  
"Just something I decided a long time ago." He replied. "I decided... that those years weren't long enough." Kari turned from the wall, now unsure of what to think.  
  
"TK, what are you talking about?" She asked. This was it, TK swallowed a lump in his throat that had somehow formed there, trying to force back any worry of her reaction.  
  
"I mean that I want to be with you forever..." He replied. With that TK fell to one knee, pulling the box from his pocket as he did. Kari gasped as he held it out to her, opening it. The light from the sunset made the diamonds sparkle in many colors and the gold seemed to glow. "Kari Kamiya, will you make me the happiest man in two worlds and marry me?" Kari looked down in disbelief, not sure this was really happening or not. A moment of silent passed, which TK used to take in the fact that he actually went through with this. All that was left was to hear her answer.  
  
"TK... Nothing would make me happier..." She said, making TK's heart jump. "...But..." His joy suddenly turned to fear, not liking that word at this moment. "...I can't accept..." TK didn't know what to say. He stood up, still holding the ring and box in his hand.  
  
"Well I don't mean as soon as possible." TK said, guessing the reason. "I know it's bad timing with this quest, but you can take all the time you want." Kari shook her head, now confusing TK as well as worrying him.  
  
"It's not that..." She said. "I want to marry you, TK, but after this quest... I won't be able to..." TK wasn't sure what he was getting at, but it made his worry grow as it went on.  
  
"Well if you think we're too young, that's no problem..." He said, trying to find any excuse he could. Again Kari shook her head, however.  
  
"It's not that, either..." She replied. "TK... It's something Azulongmon told me in that dream, something I didn't want to tell you... He warned me that even though my Digivice would hold the energy to defeat the Cataclysm, it would still have to go through me to use... and that I wouldn't survive it..." TK couldn't believe his ears, he had to have missed something here.  
  
"...You can't be serious..." He said in disbelief, but to his dread he received a nod in response. "...and you still accepted?!" TK snapped, breaking down suddenly. "Kari, you can't! I won't let you!" Kari stepped back, putting some distance between her and TK.  
  
"TK, this isn't something I could just say no to." She said sternly. "This is the fate of two worlds, if it costs my life to save them, that's what it takes." TK didn't know what to say, or even what to think. It felt like his world just crumbled into dust under him.  
  
"Kari..." TK said, but was unsure what to follow it with. Kari shook her head, though, not wanting to hear anything. He didn't believe this was happening, it couldn't be real... Sure, there was always a worry about the worst happening in any of their adventures but there was always a chance of surviving and winning. Winning here meant death for Kari, something TK refused to accept.  
  
"TK, I know you don't like it." She said. "This isn't something I like anymore than you do, but my death is nothing compared to all the others that this evil will cause. If that's what it takes, it's a small price." TK shook his head, refusing to accept it.  
  
"Kari, that's ridiculous!" He shouted. "This can't be the only way! There has to be some way to beat it without killing yourself!" Again she shook her head, slowing showing more sadness as this went on.  
  
"I'm sorry, TK, but there is no other way..." She said, an upset sound to her voice. "Azulongmon already told me that the Guardians looked for any mother possible answer and there was none. It's no different from Angemon sacrificing his life to save you... I just won't be coming back... but it also means you, Gatomon, my family, all my loved ones, will survive and thinking about that... I'm sorry, but I can't turn away from this." TK stood silent, mouth slightly open from surprise and confusion. "...Let's get going... It's getting late and we still have a long walk." With that Kari turned and continued down the path, leaving TK in a state of absolute shock.  
  
Once Kari was a few yards away TK dropped to his knees, too lost in thought to even stand. He let the box fall from his hand, knocking the ring loose as it his the stone path. The ring rolled a little before falling on it's side. TK noticed none of this, too lost to think of anything but what had happened in the last minute. Kari had to die to save both worlds, he couldn't get those words from his mind... At this moment he didn't care about either world or anyone in them, not even himself, only Kari mattered to him... and now she was expected to die in just a few days... TK clenched his eyes shut, forcing back tears he felt forming. Everything was just now hitting him at once, fear, sadness, anger, depression, everything was just too much for him to take, too much to bear... He was angry at Azulongmon for sending them on this quest, angry at the Cataclysm for making it necessary, even angry at Kari for accepting the quest. It didn't even seem real, but when he regained his senses and returned to reality, it was still true, and it couldn't be avoided. Kari's life would end in a few days, and as far as TK was concerned, his was already at an end.  
  
End Chapter 9  
  
Next: Chapter 10 - Jester  
  
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	10. Jester

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 10 of 26 - Jester  
  
Patamon and Gatomon were again sitting in silence, but this time not from boredom. Instead it was by Patamon's choice, after hearing the secret Gatomon had been withholding he needed the silence to sort out all the new thoughts. Kari was going to die willingly, to save both worlds he called home, it was a fact he couldn't get over... He must have badgered on for at least half an hour about it not being the only way or not needing to take such risks, but it took all this time to realize it was the only way. Patamon didn't like it, he hated it... but he accepted it.  
  
"...Are you okay, Patamon?" Gatomon asked, concerned about her friend beside her. Before she had been glad he had stopped talking about Kari's fate but his total silence had begun to worry her.  
  
"...Yeah, I'm alright." He finally said. "It's just a lot to accept so suddenly..." Gatomon knew how he felt, when Kari confided in her this secret, it took nearly an hour of complaining and infuriated rambling to calm down and think about it, she still didn't accept it completely.  
  
"Well..." She began. "I know what you're going through so if you need anything, I'm always here." Patamon felt a sudden comfort over him as she spoke those words, it was a nice feeling to have at the moment.  
  
"Thanks, Gatomon, that's nice to know." Patamon said, smiling at her faintly. Gatomon smiled back, glad she was of some help in all of this and not just the bearer of bad news. She looked up at the sky, just now realizing night had fallen.  
  
"They're taking a long time..." Gatomon said. "You think the path is really that long?" Patamon had almost forgotten that TK and Kari were walking toward the next temple now, too wrapped up in everything else that seemed to be happening all at once.  
  
"Maybe..." He replied. "...You don't think anything happened to them, do you?" That thought hadn't crossed Gatomon's mind in hours and she wished Patamon hadn't mentioned it now.  
  
"Of course not." She replied. "The path's supposed to be well hidden, right? Ragnadramon can't find it and there aren't any other Digimon that want to stop us." Patamon knew all of that, of course. Fear tends to be overpowering, though, especially about someone you care about.  
  
"We don't know that for sure, though." He said. "Ragnadramon found us fairly well considering we had only been in the Digital World for a little while." Gatomon closed her eyes, wishing Patamon hadn't said that. She hadn't thought about that, how quickly he found them despite knowing nothing about where they would be in the Digital World or when.  
  
"Patamon, let's not talk about it, okay?" She asked, hoping to get him off the topic. Suddenly Patamon felt bad about ever mentioning it, he didn't mean to upset her.  
  
"I'm sorry..." He said, a bit of a timid tone to his voice. "I didn't mean to make you worry." Gatomon shook her head, opening her eyes again. She stood from her spot against the gateway's base, her head looking down to the ground.  
  
"Don't worry about it..." She replied. "I've been worried all day, it's just too hard not to be worried. I hate this whole situation, we don't even know if they're okay, let alone getting close to the temple..." Patamon now felt ever worse, not just from his own fear for TK and Kari, but now because of how bad Gatomon was feeling. As helpless as he felt to help his human counterpart, he felt worse because Gatomon was right here in front of him and he still didn't know how to help.  
  
Patamon stood from his seat, only one thing coming to his mind. He walked over to her, facing her as best he could with her head still down. He hesitated before putting his arms around her, one at her waist, one at her neck, holding her head against him. Gatomon wasn't sure what he was doing, but felt a sudden comfort over her. She closed her eyes, putting her arms around his waist. Patamon had done this as a friendly gesture, his only way of comforting his friend, but standing there with his arms around her, and now her arms around him, all the feelings he had been thinking about in the last few days caught up to him. They were understood now, though, his undeniable love for Gatomon only strengthening in this moment. Patamon resisted telling her then and there how he felt, knowing the timing was wrong for it. Neither Digimon wished to let go, both for their own, but very similar reasons, and felt no need to ever do.  
  
After a few minutes Gatomon opened her eyes, then saw something out of the corner of them. It took everything she had to break their embrace to look over at the monitor that was all but forgotten about. It was glowing dimly, but more noticeable was the second indicator that they had been waiting for was now lit up, meaning the gate was finally open for them.  
  
"Patamon, they made it." She said, a very relieved sound to her voice. Patamon looked over now, breathing much easier now that he knew things were okay. He walked over quickly, with Gatomon right behind him, both eager to enter and rejoin their human friends.  
  
**********  
  
Kari stood up from the small monitor that was set beside the end of the bridge they had been walking on for so long, hoping Patamon and Gatomon would be joining them soon. She and TK were now standing on a small land mass that was at the end of their long path. The whole area was still surrounded by clouds with this small, grass covered island floating among them. In the middle was the temple, very similar to the one Baihumon was located in, but with Azulongmon's image painted over the entrance instead of Baihumon's.  
  
"Well, I activated the monitor." She said to TK, who was leaning against the railing of the end of the bridge. "Our Digimon should be joining us soon." TK heard every word but didn't care about a single one, his thoughts were still encompassed by Kari's sudden announcement. It wasn't fair, why did she have to die? Why did it have to be the only way they had? It was unbearable, he couldn't believe he had to deal with so much on top of the crisis the Digital World was in. He looked up at the temple, remembering how glad he thought he would be to finally see it, to be done with walking and to come closer to stopping Cataclysm. Now he hated the sight, he wished that path really had gone on forever.  
  
Looking at TK, Kari seemed to realize what was going on in his mind, deciding something as she did. She reached into her pocket, drawing out her D-Terminal. She flipped it open and began punching in an e-mail to the real world. She needed to explain a lot and it was going to take a while without a keyboard, even if she had become proficient at typing with the device in her hands. It took a good twenty minutes to finish and finally send, in which time TK hadn't moved and the Digimon had yet to appear, both of which had her worried. Maybe it was for the best, though, she knew her e-mail wouldn't be the easiest for the receiver to read.  
  
"TK?" Kari finally said, in hope of stirring TK a bit. "I just e-mailed someone in the real world, you might want to expect company soon." TK didn't see why she would bother to ask anyone to join them, like making him suffer wasn't enough.  
  
"...Someone else coming to help you kill yourself?" TK said resentfully. There was a harshness to his voice Kari had never heard before, then again she couldn't blame him for acting so bitter.  
  
"No..." She replied simply. "I just think it's better to have someone here that isn't so dragged down by my own fate. As it is you're too shaken to help me finish this quest." TK found it hard to believe anyone would be willing to actually let her continue, let alone help her do it. He turned around to face her, an angry look in his eyes.  
  
"Of course I'm shaken up!" He said, almost shouting. "My girlfriend of 5 years shoots down my proposal because she's going to be dead in a few days! How do you expect me to act?!" Kari was surprised to hear TK snap like that, never hearing it from him before, but at the same time she had been expecting it since she told him. TK stepped back a bit, now realizing what he had just done. "Kari, I... I'm sorry, I didn't..." Of course he didn't mean to make such an outburst, but it couldn't be helped. TK turned away again, ashamed of his own reaction.  
  
"My point exactly." She said, turning back to the monitor. She was expecting anything to come from that screen now, either her invited help or her Digimon.  
  
It took a few minutes before the monitor lit up, indicating something was coming through. Kari was relieved to see the forms of Gatomon and Patamon appear in front of the monitor, both looking somewhat exhausted from the long wait.  
  
"About time." Gatomon said, running up to Kari, who picked the feline Digimon up in her arms. "I burned a few of my nine lives waiting for you guys to turn that thing on." Kari was glad someone around here was in a good mood, but of course Gatomon had enough time to recover from the shock. Looking down at the feline Digimon, she figured it was as good a time as any to tell Gatomon at least some of what happened.  
  
"Gatomon, I told TK..." She said to her Digimon. "He kind of left me no choice." Gatomon frowned a bit, but felt a bit relieved, not sure if it was the right thing to tell Patamon.  
  
"I guess we're even, then." Gatomon replied. "I ended up telling Patamon, as well." TK turned around at the sound of his Digimon's name walking a bit closer to the group that was now present. Kari set Gatomon down, looking over to the orange Digimon that had appeared beside her own Digimon. He looked back at her, his large eyes sad at the thought of her fate. Kari couldn't help but feel bad that someone so innocent had to get dragged down with everyone else.  
  
TK watched on, relieved Patamon was here now. Maybe he could help him talk some sense into Kari before she did something insane. He started to approach his Digimon when he saw something he couldn't believe. Patamon flapped up to eye level with Kari, then over to her, landing in her arms and hugging her as best he could with his wings.  
  
"Thank you, Kari..." He said, a sad, but understanding tone to his voice. Kari paused for a second, surprised by Patamon's gesture. She eventually held him in response, somehow admiring the small Digimon for understanding. She wished TK could have the same sight as his Digimon, though.  
  
TK watched the scene unfold, somehow feeling betrayed as he did. It was bad enough the love of his life was going to let herself be killed, but now his best friend and partner was condoning it? It was starting to feel like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, everything seemed to make things turn for the worse with every passing minute.  
  
"So what are we waiting for?" Gatomon said, looking up at her partner. Kari let go of Patamon, letting the small Digimon fly over to join his own partner. "We're all here now, let's go get Azulongmon's share of the power." Kari was glad her partner was still enthusiastic about the situation, but she shook her head in response.  
  
"There's someone I emailed in the real world." Kari said. "TK didn't take the news well at all, so I thought it would be better to have someone along that wasn't in such a mind shock from all of this. I want them to get here before we go any farther." Gatomon thought about it before nodding, seeing the need for an extra travel companion. TK turned his head from Kari and Gatomon, looking back at the temple. Patamon had landed on his shoulder, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Patamon's company at the moment, too many thoughts clustered into his mind, it was making him doubt a lot and wonder about even more... Even worse, he didn't know how to stop it.  
  
**********  
  
At least half an hour had passed. Kari was still refusing to enter the temple until whoever she summoned had arrived, not even hinting if this company was even male or female. TK wasn't sure what to expect from this impending event, or who for that matter. It was probably Tai, Kari always did want her brother close when times became as bad as this. He had a sudden thought, if her intended guest was his own brother. What better way to keep him from getting in Kari's way or trying to stop her.  
  
"Your guest sure is taking their time..." TK said resentfully. Kari couldn't blame him for his mood, but it was starting to get to her. She was starting to think her pick was becoming more and more appropriate.  
  
"It's not like they check their e-mail constantly, they'll get here." She replied. TK looked back at Patamon, laying on the ground next to him. Maybe it was a good thing this mystery person was taking so long, it kept her out of the temple and away from any danger for now.  
  
Unfortunately TK's luck seemed to be very low today as the monitor they had been watching came to life, Kari's arrival now on their way. A light emerged from the monitor's screen, releasing a pair of figures from it. The light was too bright for any of them to tell who, just that one was obviously a Digimon from their small size. As the light faded, TK immediately recognized his friend Davis standing in front of the monitor, with Veemon right as his side as usual. The two stood there smiling like this was a normal get together, TK thought Kari explained things in her e-mail.  
  
"Thanks for coming, Davis." Kari said. "To be honest I'm surprised you did, I don't think I would have been able to go through with it." Davis shook his head in response, still smiling at her.  
  
"You asked for my help, how could I say no?" He replied. Just then Davis looked over and noticed TK, standing at the end of the bridge and looking away from them. "Hey, TK! Since when did you start being such a loner?" TK had never been in a worse mood in his life and the last thing he needed was a ribbing from Davis. At this point he was just glad he didn't start screwing his name up again.  
  
"He's been like this for hours, I don't see him getting better anytime soon." Kari explained. Davis's smile faded, now seeing how bad things were.  
  
"Guess I know why your e-mail was so urgent..." He replied, looking on at TK. "Don't worry, let me and Veemon take care of things here." Kari smiled at Davis, glad he was going to help them out, then turned to Gatomon.  
  
"Let's get the energy from this temple, it might be good to leave as soon as possible." She said to her Digimon. Gatomon nodded, eager to get home after such a hard day. Kari walked off and into the entrance of the temple, Gatomon right at her heels, leaving TK and Patamon with Davis and Veemon, who were already approaching the duo. Davis wasn't sure exactly what to do, though, Kari wanted Davis to join their quest, but also said TK would need a bit of a moral boost, something he wasn't sure he was good at.  
  
"TK, come on, cheer up!" Davis said, realizing his opening attempt was fairly poor. TK couldn't believe he would ask him that now, unless he was completely oblivious to everything happening, which wouldn't surprise TK. Patamon had woken up from Davis's approach and looked up at his human partner, seeing an angered look on his face. The small Digimon decided this wasn't the time to be around and took to the air, gliding away from the two humans. Veemon watched Patamon fly off and started to give chase.  
  
"Patamon, slow down!" Veemon said, finding more interest in talking to the orange Digimon than listening to the two humans. Now it was just TK and Davis, left in hopes of getting TK's attitude to improve.  
  
"Davis, what are you doing here?" TK said, a bitter tone to his voice. Hearing that tone from TK almost scared Davis, knowing him for so long it was like a different person was in control of him.  
  
"Kari asked me to help her out with this quest of yours." He answered. "She also said you weren't feeling your best so I thought I could cheer you up." TK seriously doubted that would be happening, unless Davis knew a way to stop Kari and still beat the Cataclysm.  
  
"Then you'll be wasting your time." TK said, still looking away from Davis. "I don't want to be cheered up, I want Kari to stop this quest!" Davis stepped back a bit, deciding he was going at this the wrong way. After a minute he decided there wasn't really a right way to go about this, anyway, and would be better off making it up as he went.  
  
"Come on, TK!" Davis said, moving in front of TK. TK didn't take long to turn away form Davis again, only getting further annoyed by his actions. "We haven't talked in a while, there's gotta be something else on your mind." This was getting unbearable, Davis had to know what was going on, but here he was, same happy tone to his voice, same smile on his face. TK thought Davis cared about Kari almost as much as he did, yet he didn't seem a bit concerned about her at all.  
  
"No, Davis, there's not." TK said coldly. He tried to walk toward the temple to get away, only to have Davis follow just inches behind. "I just want to be left alone!" Davis wasn't ready to give up, but if he pushed any harder, he knew where it would end up. He paused before deciding his next move.  
  
"Aw, come on!" Davis continued. "I can't just leave you here alone, besides I still want to talk to you." TK had enough of this and turned around, facing Davis with a cold glare in his eyes. The sight almost sent a chill down Davis's spine, it was one of those things you always thought was impossible.  
  
"Don't you get it?!" TK shouted. "Kari's going to die and all you can worry about is catching up on things! Don't you care at all that she's going to die?! I thought you cared about her!!" TK snapped completely, swinging a fist at Davis. This was what Davis expected, though, moving his head to dodge easily. He quickly grabbed TK by the upper arms and pushed him as hard as he could into the temple wall, restraining him. The thud of TK hitting the stone wall alerted Veemon and Patamon, but neither was sure enough of what was happening to go over and see.  
  
"I'm perfectly aware of things, TK." Davis said, done with trying to get through to TK in any normal fashion and now acting as serious as he had ever been in his life. "Kari was worried about you, that's why she e-mailed me, that's why she wanted me to come with you. She's just as worried about you as you are about her." TK tried his best to escape from Davis's grip, but he failed. Davis was bracing his hold with his legs, stronger than TK's arms from so many years of soccer.  
  
"How could you be so heartless?!" TK shouted. "Don't you care that she's going to die?! I thought she was important to you!" Davis wished he hadn't been reminded of that. Of course he no longer harbored his crush over Kari but she was still one of his most important friends.  
  
"Of course she's important to me." Davis replied, trying to stay at a calm, but still stern voice. "You think I want her to die? What she's dying for is more important than you or me, TK, or even your feelings for her." TK wasn't going to accept this, he wished he could just make Davis shut up, but he was still firmly pinned to the wall, helpless to stop him.  
  
"You don't understand!" TK said, now trying to get his own message across. "Kari means everything to me, if this world ends or not, either way I lose Kari and either way my life ends then and there! I'd give my life a thousand times over to keep her from doing this!!" Davis felt an urge to release TK, but decided against it until his friend had calmed down.  
  
"I know that, TK, I've known for years what you'd do for Kari." Davis replied. "Has it even crossed your mind that she's doing exactly what you would do if it meant saving her? She told me herself, as important as it is to save both worlds, she's doing this to save you!" TK suddenly stopped struggling, Davis's words hitting a nerve somewhere in his mind. Davis felt TK go a little limp and released him, letting TK lean against the wall, a wide, vacant look in his eyes. Davis wasn't sure if he had helped or not, but as long as TK wasn't so hateful anymore he at least did some good. At least that's what he thought.  
  
**********  
  
A few minutes later Kari and Gatomon reemerged from the temple entrance, Kari walking a little slower than before, still a little weak from taking in the energy of Azulongmon. She looked over at Davis, who was with Veemon on one side of the land mass. A second glance brought her to TK, with Patamon hovering in front of him. Something seemed different, though, TK seemed completely out of it. He was sitting against the temple wall, tucked up with his knees to his chest. Kari waked over to Davis, watching TK most of the time, Gatomon close behind.  
  
"Didn't go as well as I hoped, I take it." She said to him. Davis nodded, looking over at TK. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his friend's mind, just in the last few minutes TK had been in two different moods that Davis had never seen him be in.  
  
"It's strange, I felt like I was talking to a stranger." Davis explained. "He's not angry anymore, but I think the reality of it all just hit him, he's really depressed." Kari had hoped Davis would be able to cheer TK up, maybe even get him back in his normal state of mind, but this wasn't what she had in mind.  
  
"Well we have to do something..." Kari said. "I can't finish this quest without him and if he's like this the entire time..." She was starting to run out of ideas, she knew how to cheer up TK but this was beyond anything she had to deal with before.  
  
"Wish I knew what we could do." Davis said. He looked down at his Digimon, silent through all of this. "I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?" Veemon looked up, broken from his own thoughts.  
  
"Well, usually when you're upset I just get you a donut and you're fine." He replied. "Somehow I don't think that's going to work here, though." Kari couldn't help but find some humor in Veemon, the blue Digimon was deceptively innocent even at times like this. She looked at her own Digimon, hoping for another opinion. Gatomon caught her glance, looking up at Kari.  
  
"Don't even look at me." Gatomon warned. "TK's beyond any help I could come up with." That was what Kari was afraid of. Four minds and TK seemed to be beyond any of them.  
  
"Maybe all he needs is some time to think about things..." Kari said. She walked over to join TK, leaving the others by the monitor. When she reached him Patamon flew up and landed on her shoulder, apparently tired from floating so long.  
  
"TK, we're going home." Kari said, trying to stir him. TK was glad to be getting away from the temple, out of the Digital World that wanted Kari dead. He stood up slowly and walked passed Kari in silence, his head still hanging low. Patamon made a move to go with him, but was stopped by Kari's hand that had found his back.  
  
"Hang on, Patamon." She said once TK was out of earshot. "You know TK better than anyone, what does he usually do to get his mind off something?" Patamon had been thinking about that since TK had started acting this depressed, but he was surprised at what little TK did in times like this.  
  
"Well last time he was really upset was when Matt moved to northern Japan." He answered. "He took a walk in the park for a few hours and came back a little more like himself, at least enough to act normally. He might just need time like that to think about things." Kari must know TK better than she thought, coming up with the same thing his Digimon had.  
  
"Well it shouldn't be too late once we get back to the real world, maybe we can get TK to the park." She said. Patamon smiled faintly, at the very least he was sure he could take his own mind off things there. Kari turned and walked back to the group, Patamon still riding her shoulder. She hoped this would all turn out alright soon, if she had to leave TK she at least wanted him to understand what she was sacrificing herself for and how important it was. Thinking about it, she hated the thought herself, leaving TK, not being able to live her life with him as she had wanted to, but some things can't be avoided or refused, no matter how much you want to.  
  
End Chapter 10  
  
Next: Chapter 11 - Knights  
  
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	11. Knights

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 11 of 26 - Knights  
  
Back in the real world, Kari and Davis were eager to get started with TK. Despite having to practically drag him most of the way, they managed to get to the park rather quickly. In the Digital World the sun had long since set, but in the real world the sun had just finished setting, giving them enough time to try and get TK into a better state of mind. By the time they arrived at the park TK had only mildly started walking on his own free will, probably only because he had little other choice. The Digimon were following behind with all this going on, luckily the streets and park were all but dead tonight and had no problem hiding from the one or two people passing by.  
  
Kari stopped when they reached a spot beside the usually crowded lake, now free of anyone but themselves. She would have taken him to their spot beside the quiet, smaller lake, but she didn't want to risk reminding him of all the times the two had met there. In all honesty she was worried of reminding herself of that same thing, fearing she'd lose her will to keep to the quest.  
  
"So, now that we're here, what do we do?" Davis asked, keeping to a whisper only Kari could hear. She was between Davis and TK, holding TK with one arm to keep him going. She released her hold, letting him go on his own.  
  
"TK just needs time to think." Kari whispered back. "At least that's what I hope. We'll just let him have as much time as he needs, we'll only be there for comfort, so no trying to talk him out of this." Davis nodded, understanding that was out of the question.  
  
"So what should we do?" Patamon asked, hovering up to Kari. That was something she had been thinking about since they left the Digital World, she hadn't been sure of their Digimon's role in all of this.  
  
"Well..." She began, not sure about her answer. "I don't mean to leave you out, I know how close you and TK are... but I think it would be better if you stayed behind, Gatomon and Veemon, too. I don't want TK to feel overwhelmed by all of us and if there's someone in the park we wouldn't have time to hide all three of you." Patamon couldn't help but feel disappointed despite Kari's reasons, he was hoping he would be able to help his companion.  
  
"You're sure?" Patamon asked. "You could bring just me, I can fly away from anyone that might see me." Kari shook her head, trying to stop him before he got his reasons together.  
  
"You'll be going home with TK, anyway, you'll have all the time you want then." She pointed out. "Besides..." Kari gave a quick look down at her partner Digimon, who was looking TK over, as worried as the rest of them. "I'd rather you stayed here with Gatomon. She talks about you a lot, and she says she feels best when you're around, anyway. If I have to leave her, I wouldn't leave her with anyone but you." Patamon felt his heart suddenly beat twice as fast at the news, causing a slight blush that made Kari giggle a little.  
  
"Well if that's the case then I'll stay behind." Patamon said, a smile on his face as he agreed to her terms. Kari was glad he did, she had always had a feeling Davis's crush on her translated over to his Digimon and had yet to see his Digimon's crush weaken. She felt better with Patamon keeping an eye on things.  
  
"Thanks, Patamon." Kari said, smiling down at him. She turned to Davis, who was still watching TK. "Davis, let's go. I think we need all the time we can get." Davis looked over at Kari and nodded, agreeing. The two walked over to TK, gently guiding him to go with them as the two started down the only trail that lead in and out of the area they were in, keeping TK ahead of them at all times. It took a while before TK's slow walk lead them out of the area, leaving the three Digimon to their own devices.  
  
**********  
  
Patamon was quick to find that their human partners had picked a particularly boring part of the park to set them down in. Sure, they had a great view of the lake, but it did little good with just the shore to watch from. There were no trees, none that could be climbed, anyway. The whole area was fences off with tall bushes that were too loose for even him to stand on. The center was just a flower bed that stretched out from the center to the sides, covering half the length between both sides, and along the wall of bushes were benches except for the shore of the lake. There were a few random rocks for decoration but that was hardly worth looking at.  
  
He instead found more interesting sights in what his friends were doing. Veemon was testing his Vee Headbutt against the largest rock in the area, but didn't seem to be getting much from it except a headache. Gatomon, on the other hand, was looking through the flower bed, quite content in the activity. Patamon decided not to bother her and instead made his way over to Veemon, who had conceded defeat to the stone in front of him.  
  
"You're probably just rusty." Patamon said, alerting Veemon. "It has been a long time since you had to use that move and it never really got you anywhere in the first place." It was joking honesty, which Veemon had to agree with.  
  
"The rock's just harder than my head, that's all." Veemon said. "So, what did Kari want with you? I couldn't hear but it looked important." Patamon hadn't realized anyone else might have been watching when Kari called him over, but he guessed with all of them there it was unavoidable. He gave a quick look over at Gatomon, still sniffing flowers, blushing a bit as he remembered his duty.  
  
"Oh, no special reason..." Patamon replied, his eyes still locked on Gatomon. Veemon was quick to notice Patamon's sudden interest in the feline Digimon, smiling a bit as he did.  
  
"Patamon, what are you looking at?" Veemon said, deciding there was some fun in luring Patamon into revealing something. Patamon quickly broke his lock on Gatomon and looked back at Veemon, smiling nervously.  
  
"Oh, nothing at all!" He said, quick in his reply. "Just.... the flower bed!" Veemon couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, admiring his friend's quick thinking. He never was good at lying, though.  
  
"Okay, fair enough." Veemon said, still smiling. "But since when does the flower bed have white fur?" Patamon suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his gut, not realizing he had been so obvious in his actions.  
  
"...It was that obvious?" Patamon asked, relenting. "Guess I need to be more careful about it from now on." Veemon again laughed, glad Patamon had taken it well instead of being upset.  
  
"Just takes some practice, that's all." Veemon replied. "If it makes you feel better, I've had a crush on Gatomon for a while, too." This was news to Patamon, though he didn't like referring to what he felt for Gatomon as "a crush". That hardly covered it, though he decided that was better left unknown to Veemon.  
  
"I didn't know that..." Patamon admitted. "Do you know what she thinks of you?" Unfortunately Veemon was fairly sure of that answer. He mainly just daydreamed Gatomon's feelings for him, remembering his favorite one of dancing with Gatomon.  
  
"Don't know, to be honest." Veemon said, stretching truth a bit. "What about you?" Patamon had hoped he wouldn't ask that, of course Patamon wanted to know what Gatomon felt, but strangely at the same time he was terrified of the answer. So many responses she could have and there was only one possibility he wanted to hear.  
  
"Guess I don't know, either." He finally said, taking longer to answer than Veemon had. The blue Digimon started to get an idea in his head, if he could work a response out of Patamon so easily, why not Gatomon?  
  
"Tell you what, how about we both find out?" He offered. "Maybe there's a way we can get her to say how she feels without being too direct about it." Patamon wasn't sure what Veemon had in mind, or if he even trusted one of Veemon's schemes. If he could do it, though, it would be a nice thing to know.  
  
"You think you can get her to say?" Patamon asked, still doubting this claim. "She's not the kind to reveal secrets, you know." Veemon knew very well how true that was, but still he really wanted to know and somehow knew Patamon did, as well.  
  
"It's at least worth a shot." He replied. "We both want to be Gatomon's knight in shining Digi-Armor, right? If it doesn't work, you won't be any worse off than you are now." Patamon hadn't thought of that, at worst then the plan would fail and he'd be back to square one, anyway.  
  
"...What did you have in mind?" He asked, deciding it was at least worth trying. Veemon stepped closer, whispering something in Patamon's ear. As Patamon took it in, it sounded like any other half-baked plan of Veemon's but it was better than nothing if it would do what he promised.  
  
**********  
  
Gatomon had finished what seemed to be her tenth lap around the long flower bed, now well aquatinted with every sight and smell it had to offer. There seemed to be little else to do, though, just wait and sniff flowers. She would have tried talking to Patamon, but he seemed to have run off with Veemon for the moment. That and the fact they would probably be no better off with conversation than they were earlier that day in front of the gateway.  
  
"Hi, Gatomon!" She suddenly heard behind her. Gatomon turned quickly, seeing Patamon behind her, smiling widely at her. In his hands was a makeshift cup made from one of the deeper flowers in the flower bed, filled with water. "We've been here a while, I thought you'd want something to drink." She actually wasn't thirsty, but accepted the water, anyway, not wanting to be rude.  
  
"Thanks, Patamon." She said before taking a small sip. As soon as it made it down her throat she had to hold back an urge to wretch, the water tasted terrible... It took a moment for her to regain her composure. "Patamon, did you just scoop this water out of the lake?" Patamon's smile faded as he nodded innocently.  
  
"Well, yeah." He replied. "I picked out all the little bugs and leaves and things, though." Now Gatomon wasn't sure what to do, one more dose from the water-filled flower and she'd have to knock off one of her nine lives.  
  
"Well thanks, Patamon, that's sweet..." She said half-heartedly. She set the makeshift cup down in the flower bed, propping it up between a pair of stiff flower stems so it wouldn't fall over.  
  
"Gatomon!" She again heard behind her. Gatomon turned to now see Veemon, who wore the same grin that Patamon approached with, which kind of creeped her out. "I thought you might be hungry so I brought you something." Gatomon looked down in his hands, holding onto a hot dog. Unfortunately it was half covered with dirt and bits of leaves and rocks.  
  
"Uh... Veemon, where did you find that?" Gatomon asked, worried about the answer. The hot dog appeared like it had been buried in the ground for days.  
  
"From a hot dog vender going around, where else?" He responded. "Of course I don't have any money so I had to scare him into dropping one. I got it off the ground fast, though, five second rule!" Gatomon wasn't sure what worried her more, the hot dog or the fact he was so proud of getting it. Reluctantly she accepted it, but set it down beside the water cup right away.  
  
"Well I'm not hungry right now, but thanks." She said. "Maybe later..." Patamon was starting to doubt this plan again, this was more like endless sucking up rather than anything helpful.  
  
"Anything I can get you, Gatomon?" Patamon asked, still smiling widely. This was starting to get overwhelming, she didn't know what had gotten into the two but it was now really starting to get weird.  
  
"No thanks, I'm fine." She replied. Stepping back from the two a bit. It didn't do much good, though, both of them now able to look on at her at the same time, both still grinning.  
  
"You sure?" Veemon asked. "Anything you want, leave it to us." Gatomon had enough, this was just too much to bear any longer. Whatever the two were thinking, they had to be out of their minds.  
  
"Okay, what's wrong with you two?" She asked, eager to end whatever was going on here. "You're both acting weird suddenly, it's creepy." Patamon dropped his grin, trading it for an annoyed look that he directed at Veemon, who was now suddenly very nervous.  
  
"Foolproof, huh?" Patamon said, folding his arms, awaiting an explanation. Veemon couldn't figure out which accusation to address first, he was panicking about both of them. He looked over at Patamon, figuring it would be safer to deal with him.  
  
"Well I thought it was..." Veemon replied. "I thought my hot dog was pretty good!" Gatomon was starting to get irritated, she wanted to know why the two were being so weird and she was losing patience.  
  
"Veemon, Patamon, tell me what's going on, now." She said, a slight anger in her tone. Patamon looked over at her, suddenly feeling guilty for even agreeing to such an idea. Veemon looked over at him, silently pleading for him not to tell her what was happening, but Patamon knew it was too late.  
  
"...Me and Veemon wanted to know... which one of us you liked better." He replied. "He thought if we were nice enough to you then we could find out without actually asking you." Veemon dropped his head, ashamed of the situation, also disappointed Patamon didn't stick with him in defending themselves. Gatomon, on the other hand, didn't know how to take the situation.  
  
"So all of that was just some dumb way to trick me?" She said. "You two just wanted that one answer out of me? Did it even occur to you how I'd feel about all of this?" To be honest she didn't even know how she felt about this, she felt angry, confused, upset... Meanwhile Patamon was feeling even worse about all of this and didn't see any way out.  
  
"I'm sorry, Gatomon..." Patamon said. "We just... wanted to know..." Veemon stepped back a bit, trying to pull himself out of this situation before it got worse.  
  
"Patamon, you should know better than anyone!" She said, her angry tone only getting worse. "We've helped each other, we've hugged each other... We've even kissed! And you had to try and trick that answer from me?!" Patamon wished she hadn't brought up that memory, as invalid as it was it still burned in his mind. Veemon, on the other hand, was now completely thrown out of the loop with Gatomon's last comment.  
  
"What about the kiss?" Patamon said, his own voice now showing some temper. "You said it yourself, it was an experiment, it wasn't meant for us to do. The kiss was meaningless" He didn't like to say that, it was a lie, but it was what they had agreed. Gatomon looked back on that moment and wished Patamon had used any other word but that one.  
  
"Meaningless..." She whispered to herself, bringing a slight tear to her eye. She turned around, putting her back to Patamon, to hide her tears and to keep from looking at him. "Just leave me alone, Patamon, okay?" Patamon looked on, now scared that he accidentally hurt her.  
  
"Gatomon..." He started, now regretting even thinking about agreeing with Veemon's stupid plan. "I didn't mean it like that..." It was too late, though, the damage was done and Gatomon was not in a forgiving mood.  
  
"I said leave me alone!" Gatomon screamed, spinning around. She brought her claws to bear, swiping them across Patamon's cheek, throwing his head to the side and leaving three scratches in his skin. Without looking back Gatomon bounded off toward the bushes, ripping a hole in them with her claws as she ran through them. Patamon watched as she left, in disbelief about what had just happened. He stood there for a minute in sheer shock, not even feeling the sharp stings of the scratches.  
  
"Uh... Patamon..." Veemon said quietly. "What just happened...?" Patamon couldn't answer, still shaken up. It took a few seconds longer to shake himself out of it, realizing what ha had just done.  
  
"...The worst mistake of my life..." Patamon replied, feeling worse than he could remember ever feeling. This had gone so fast and was already out of control, he had to salvage something. If he was ever going to have a chance with Gatomon, this kind of thing was the last thing he needed. Without a word to Veemon, Patamon ran off in the direction Gatomon went, bounding through the hole she had left behind in the bushes. This left Veemon alone by the lake, not sure what to make of it all.  
  
"She kissed him..." Veemon said, still stuck on those words. "Patamon gets all the luck... Hmm, maybe it's the wings... Girls must have a thing for wings..." Veemon turned and walked back to a small stone he had made into a seat since Davis left, now wondering if he could get a pair of bat wings to strap to his head.  
  
**********  
  
Patamon raced down a small trail, trying his best to catch up to the feline Digimon. He couldn't believe she would scratch him like that, even if she was mad at him. With the wind rushing at him Patamon could feel the stinging from the marks on his cheek, but he didn't care right now. All that mattered was finding Gatomon, he had to straighten things out before they got any worse.  
  
After a while Patamon came to a small foot bridge at the end of the path, overlooking a small, but still steadily flowing stream. He looked up to see Gatomon, looking over the edge with her gloved paws on the railing. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked like she was... crying? Patamon had to be seeing things... But she was, he could even make out the small splashes in the stream as her tears hit the water... He slowly stepped forward, each step more unsure than the last... Eventually he made it onto the bridge and got within a foot of Gatomon, who barely acknowledged his arrival. Unfortunately seeing the scene that close up, Patamon didn't know what to say now.  
  
"...I'm sorry... if I upset you that much..." He said simply. He wasn't sure how to explain himself, he could at least say that much, though.  
  
"No, it's not your fault..." Gatomon said, still looking into the water. "I got mad, I reacted, I..." She choked on her own tears for a second, then wiped her eyes dry. "Patamon, you're the last one I'd ever want to hurt, I hate that I even did that to you..." Patamon walked to the edge of the bridge, standing up to lean on the railing himself.  
  
"It's alright, I know you were mad." He said, turning to look at her. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself just for that, though." Gatomon shook her head, refusing the idea.  
  
"You don't understand, it's all my fault..." She said. She turned her paws upward, looking down at the palms of her gloves. "These stupid claws... Thanks to these I ended up doing something I'll always regret..." She clenched her eyes shut before grabbing one of her gloves, pulling it off. With her ungloved paw she grabbed both gloves, pulling her left hand free from the one she was still wearing. Patamon watched as she took both gloves in her right hand and threw them forward, over the railing and into the water. Both watched as they floated down the stream away from them, eventually watching them sink before getting too far away.  
  
"Gatomon, why did you do that?" Patamon asked, just now getting over the sight. "You can't even attack without those..." Gatomon returned her eyes to the water below, her tears slowing a little but not stopping.  
  
"Relax... I'll get another pair next time I digivolve..." She explained. "I just... I just had to get rid of the pair that hurt you, I didn't want them a part of me anymore..." Patamon was amazed by her words, he never realized she was so upset over this... He looked at her now naked paws, now noticing something new. The back of her right paw featured a pair of scars, crossing each other. Patamon had never seen her without her gloves and never knew about it before...  
  
"...Gatomon, what happened to your hand...?" Patamon didn't know why he was suddenly curious about it... Maybe it was just better to get onto a different subject for a while.  
  
"...Reminders..." She answered, looking down at her paw. "Gifts from Myotismon to remind me of how weak I was... I thought those would be the worst days of my life, I guess I was wrong..." This was going nowhere, she was too fixed on how upset she was... As much as he blamed himself, Patamon knew this was his fault, if he had been honest in the first place this wouldn't have happened...  
  
"...Gatomon, look at me." Patamon said, hoping to get a better reaction face to face instead of talking to the back of her head... Very slowly she turned, raising her head to make eye contact with him.  
  
"Patamon..." She looked on at him, then at the scratches on his cheek. She slowly reached up, touching her hand to his cheek, very gently running her fingers along the scratches. Patamon could feel the sting from them, but barely. He had felt her touch so often but without the glove her hand was amazingly soft to the touch. He reached up, almost taking her hand into his, instead Gatomon closed her eyes, turning away form him quickly. "Patamon, I can't! I hurt you, I don't deserve to look at you..." Patamon couldn't believe what he was hearing, but this couldn't keep going or she'd never get any better.  
  
"Gatomon, stop!" He said, putting a paw on her shoulder. She tried shaking it off, but Patamon pulled on her, forcing her to turn back in his direction. He quickly took hold of her head, keeping their eyes locked. She still kept her eyes closed, trying her best to keep her head down.  
  
"Patamon, don't!" She pleaded. Patamon nearly released her just by her request, but this was for her own good and remained holding her, knowing this wouldn't end if she kept trying to avoid it.  
  
"Listen to me..." Patamon said. "I... I wasn't honest before... It wasn't just an experiment... Gatomon, that kiss... it meant everything to me, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Gatomon stopped her struggling and opened her eyes, but didn't raise her head.  
  
"Patamon, you don't expect me to just believe you, do you?" She said. "What if you're just trying to make me feel better?" He knew this was going to happen, Patamon had to pick the right words now...  
  
"You have to believe me..." He replied. "As bad as you felt about scratching me... I feel worse because I lied to you... I only want to make you happy and I messed up before I even had that chance..." Gatomon looked up, tears still welled up in her eyes. A moment of silence passed before Gatomon suddenly embraced Patamon, taking him by surprise. She was still crying, but much less than before. He held her as best she could with his smaller arms, trying to comfort her.  
  
"Patamon..." She said, almost in a whisper. "I'm... so sorry..." Patamon smiled slightly, holding her a little closer than before.  
  
"No more apologies..." He said, trying to add a sense of comfort to his voice. "Let's just put it behind us now..." Gatomon kept her hold on Patamon, which he found a sense of security in.  
  
"I know..." She replied. "I just... I just never wanted to... hurt someone I loved so much..." Patamon was surprised to hear those words, but overjoyed at the same time. He pushed her away to look into her eyes, but kept hold of her waist.  
  
"Gatomon, you really mean that?" He asked, not believing it. She nodded slightly, a slight blush forming on her face. Patamon didn't think it was possible, but it had happened, Gatomon really loved him...  
  
"If... you don't feel the same way, though... I wouldn't blame you." She said. Patamon felt a little hurt, hearing her doubt his returned feelings. He tried to think of the words to respond, but instead smiled slightly before pulling her closer. Before she could ask what he was doing, Patamon put a hand to her cheek and pressed his lips gently to hers, this time genuinely kissing her. Gatomon didn't know what to do until instinct took over, renewing her embrace and closing her eyes, kissing back. The kiss deepened, sending jolts down both Digimon, both overwhelmed by it. Patamon couldn't get his arms around Gatomon to embrace properly, but instead wrapped his wings around her, holding her as tightly to himself as he could, forcing Gatomon to get a better hold on Patamon to return the embrace. The kiss continued, now as passionate as possible, making it hard to tell where one of them began and the other ended. The two never wanted the moment to end, but it eventually did, both forced to separate from a lack of breath but not letting go. It took a minute for both Digimon to regain their senses, both completely overwhelmed.  
  
"...I do feel the same, though." Patamon finally replied. "More than anything, Gatomon, I love you." Gatomon's eyes suddenly regained their glow that they had before she started crying, a smile returning to her face as well. She soon closed them, though, resting her head against Patamon's chest, finding comfort in their embrace. Patamon closed his eyes, as well, moving one arm to hold her head against him, just enjoying the moment while it lasted, knowing the two would have a lot to explain when their partners returned.  
  
End Chapter 11  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 12 - Lessons  
  
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	12. Lessons

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 12 of 26 - Lessons  
  
TK found himself walking with his head held a bit higher than it had been since earlier that day. In just the last few hours he had been through every emotion he could ever remember having and then some. He felt the height of his love for Kari, and in the next instant the depths of the darkest of depressions. He felt overwhelming joy and unspeakable anger. Now he seemed to feel nothing, he was neither happy or sad, but not overwhelmed by any one emotion any longer. He was still followed by Kari and Davis, both not sure what to think of how this was going. TK hadn't spoken in hours and they had already circled the park and were near the lakeside area their Digimon were left in. Kari couldn't take this, she was too worried about TK to stand idle while he remained silent.  
  
"...TK, are you alright?" She finally said, breaking an hour of silence since the three had started walking. TK wished he didn't have to answer, still not in the mood to talk, but he knew he was worrying her with the silent act.  
  
"...I'm better..." He replied simply. That was enough to break the tension that had built up, but still not quite enough to relieve Kari's worries. They wouldn't pass until TK was his old self, if that was possible.  
  
"But still not okay." Davis pointed out. "TK, what's it going to take to get you back to your usual self?" Sometimes Kari hated it when Davis was so forward, knowing he had little idea of how to be careful in these matters.   
  
"Simple, get someone else to kill themselves..." He replied, walking a little faster now to put some distance between himself and Davis. Kari failed to see why TK couldn't understand why she was willing to do this, he had been willing to do the same many times before. Unfortunately she did know, if he was doing this, Kari knew she would be acting the same.  
  
The three reached the clearing where their Digimon had been waiting. Davis immediately noticed Veemon sleeping against one of the larger rocks of the area, snoring loud enough to wake a deleted Digimon. TK and Kari saw their Digimon beside the lake, staring out at it. What surprised them was seeing one of Patamon's ears wrapped around Gatomon's shoulders. Even more surprising was Gatomon's tail around Patamon in return. Neither could make a sound to alert the two, but their steps had done that well enough, alerting Gatomon's sensitive ears to their presence. She turned, prompting Patamon to do the same, both catching the glance of their stunned human counterparts. The two looked at their shocked human friends for a moment before laughing mildly at their reaction.  
  
"So much for surprising you two." Gatomon said, standing and turning to face them. Patamon did the same, a little reluctant to release Gatomon from the grip of his wing.  
  
"Yeah, we didn't want you finding out so suddenly." Patamon added. "We were hoping we would have a better chance to tell you." Kari almost wished there was a better time for such news, too, though now was as good as it would be with TK acting more like himself. The trio walked to their respective Digimon, with TK and Kari picking theirs up. Davis, on the other hand, gave Veemon a nudge with his shoe to wake him up. TK looked down at his partner in his hands, now noticing three scratches across the side of Patamon's face.  
  
"Patamon, what happened to you?" TK said, worried, though his voice didn't imply it as much as he meant it to. Patamon had completely forgotten about the scratches, the stinging stopping after he and Gatomon returned to the clearing.  
  
"Let's just say that if it wasn't for these, I wouldn't be so happy right now." Patamon replied. TK failed to see how that explained it, only confused more by the cryptic remark. He figured it was nothing bad that happened, though, if Patamon was so happy about it. Kari was watching the scene play out, but now looked down at Gatomon in her arms, seeing her partner's own change of appearance.  
  
"What happened to your gloves?" Kari asked, not so worried as TK since Gatomon wasn't physically hurt. The feline looked away from Patamon, who she hadn't taken her eyes off of since Kari came over.  
  
"They made a mistake so I threw them in the river to punish them." She replied. "I'll get another pair next time I revert from Angewomon so that's no problem." Kari was glad to hear that, not only because Gatomon didn't look the same without them, but also because of Gatomon's scars. Kari had seen them before, but Gatomon was so sensitive about it that she never explained to Kari how she got them. Even now Gatomon was hiding her right paw under her left, probably without even realizing it.  
  
"Hey, guys, if I can make a suggestion." Davis asked, walking up to join the two with a sleepy Veemon following behind. "It's really late now and you've been gone all day, I'm sure your parents are getting worried." Davis had a point, they told their parents they would be gone a long time, but they underestimated how long the road was going to take to walk and then this walk in the park took even more time.  
  
"You're right, we'll have to get home soon." Kari replied. TK agreed with them, but remained silent, still not in much mood to talk. Maybe he just needed to get some rest, sleep on the events of the day, it might seem to make more sense in the morning.  
  
"What about TK?" Veemon asked. "I mean, we had to drag him from Kari's just to get here, we don't have to do that to get him home, do we?" TK only barely remembered his trip to the park, mostly under the power of his friends around him. He was too depressed to move much on his own, Kari and Davis had to pull him by the arms part of the way and he could remember Veemon pushing his legs from behind.  
  
"...I can get home on my own, Veemon." TK said, his voice still without any actual tone. Veemon was relieved, he was getting too tired to do anymore pushing. Kari and Patamon, however, were still worried from how emotionless TK was being.  
  
"You sure?" Kari asked. "Me and Gatomon can walk home with you if you want, it wouldn't take too long." TK shook his head, not wanting to see Kari anymore than he had to. As it was he had little choice but to meet with her tomorrow to continue the quest. No matter how much he hated it now, he already promised to help her finish it and TK refused to break a promise with Kari.   
  
"I can get home on my own..." He repeated, turning to the path behind them. "I'll see you at Kari's place tomorrow." With that TK walked off, a worried Patamon still in his arms as he left. Kari couldn't help but wonder how TK would be the next day, if he would be better or possibly worse. She looked down at her Digimon in her arms, who looked just as worried. Kari wasn't sure if that was because of TK or the fact that Patamon was gone, though.  
  
"Geez, I never would have pegged TK to be the hopelessly depressed one in the Digidestined." Davis said, watching as TK faded from view. Kari shook her head, turning to look at him.  
  
"You're wrong, he was the most likely of any of us." She replied. "He's only like this because he loves me, he thought he was supposed to live the rest of his life with me." Kari lowered her head a little, a little depressed herself now. She had always imagined the same thing, but that wasn't to be, after all. "He just can't accept the idea right now, give him time and he will." That was what Kari hoped, at least, though it was better Davis think she was keeping her hope up with TK losing his.  
  
"I guess so..." Davis replied. In all honesty Davis wasn't behind this idea anymore than TK, but he didn't have the strong emotional connection with Kari that TK had. That was all that stopped him from doing everything TK was. "I should get going, too, Veemon's getting really tired. I'll see you tomorrow, Kari." With that Davis started off, Veemon in tow, though the lizard Digimon was a step slower than usual. It took them a little longer to leave than it did TK, leaving only the girls behind to leave, as well.  
  
"Things will be better tomorrow, right?" Gatomon asked, looking up from her human partner's arms. Kari looked down at her as she started to walk out of the clearing, on her way back home.  
  
"I wish I knew..." Kari admitted, still not sure of how tomorrow was going to be. She tried not to think about it as she walked, knowing all she could do was hope for the best.  
  
**********  
  
That night while Patamon slept soundly on a small bed in the corner of TK's room, TK was tossing in his bed without restraint, cursed with the worst dreams of his life. Endless visions of Kari sacrificing herself, dying in front of his eyes over and over again, and every time TK was closer to helping her, saving her, but each time it happened just before he saved her, no matter how hard he tried or how fast he was, he couldn't help her.  
  
TK shot up in bed, a small scream escaping his mouth as he did. He was covered in cold sweat and panting heavily, the dreams of Kari's fate fresh in his mind. He glanced over at the digital clock on a bed side table that read 4:28 am, not even an hour since another nightmare of the same images woke him. At this rate he wouldn't make it to the morning. The scream had woken up Patamon, but the orange Digimon didn't lave his bed, only watching TK through the dark room.  
  
TK glanced away from the clock and to the object beside it, a replica of the Crest of Hope, a commemorative present from Gennai. After MaloMyotismon's defeat he had given them all medallions that were exactly like the old ones, except powerless. Often TK would look at this crest and remember those days in the Digital World, his transformation from a scared little boy to a leader among the new Digidestined. Looking at it now, though, and all that came to mind were all of his own hopes that the previous day's events had shattered, cursing him to live his life without the things he had been hoping for years to have. TK couldn't stand it. Without thinking he grabbed the crest from his night stand and flung it across the room with all the force he could. The copy crest hit the wall, the small window holding the actual crest shattering on impact, letting the crest fly from it's tag and landing on the floor a few feet from where the tag landed. Patamon had watched the act and couldn't believe what had just happened.  
  
"TK, why did you do that?!" The Digimon said, flying from his bed to TK's as he spoke. "That was your crest! I thought that was supposed to be important to you!" At one time it was, TK thought that crest, even if it was a copy, was the most valuable thing he owned, at least to him.  
  
"Sorry, Patamon." TK said coldly, looking over to his Digimon that was now standing on the corner of his bed. "After yesterday, it's hardly important to me..." Patamon stood in disbelief, never expecting this problem to go so far.  
  
"TK..." The Digimon started, wondering if anything he could say would help. "I know things are bad right now, but you can't just abandon hope before it's all over." TK shook his head, knowing what the end meant no matter what.  
  
"Patamon, hope already abandoned me..." He responded. "The only thing I ever hoped for in my life was for my friends. I never wanted anything for myself, just for my friends and my brother. That was until I met Kari, fell in love with her, and decided I wanted to marry her. Then the only hopes I had were to be with her the rest of my life, watch our children grow old together... They were the only hopes that I had for myself in my entire life. Now every one of those hopes I ever had for myself are gone, I'm doomed to live the rest of my life without Kari. Now tell me why I should really believe in hope anymore, Patamon..." Patamon stood silent, amazed at TK's words, but also too shocked to respond. Even if he could get words to come out, he doubted he could make them mean anything to his human partner. After a moment of silence Patamon slowly flew back to his own bed, still in disbelief. When he landed on his bed Patamon looked over to where the broken tag now lied, the broken glass of the tag forming a path to where the crest landed. He had a notion to walk over and pick up the pieces, but what he would do with them now he didn't know. He decided to leave it for now, hoping TK would come to his senses and possibly take the item back himself, assuming his senses would ever be normal again.  
  
**********  
  
The next day the trio of Digidestined, including a half reluctant TK, met at Kari's house and already found themselves back in the Digital World. This time they were in the northern part of the Digital World, which again felt different from the eastern area they were used to. It also looked different, where the western area was dominated by jungle, this area was dominated by grasslands, which spanned in every direction, the hills and occasional patches of forest area being the only differences in appearance.  
  
TK looked around, already a little bored of the endless green in this area. He hadn't told anyone about the incident that morning and even made Patamon promise not to tell, either. Seeing his Digimon's reaction to it, he thought it was best Davis and Kari didn't know about it, knowing how they'd react. TK knew such an act wasn't like him, but right now he didn't feel like himself, anyway. As it was the only thing he regretted about the incident was the piece of glass from the tag he stepped on while he was getting dressed.  
  
"Looks like this temple should be a lot easier to get to." Kari said, already looking over the map she received at Azulongmon's temple. "It's only half a mile from here, thanks to these plains there's nothing between us and the temple." Davis and Veemon were looking over the map, as well, but Gatomon and Patamon seemed more content just being together again. TK watched the two Digimon as they talked, too far away to hear them clearly, but it reminded him of how him and Kari were when they first started dating.  
  
"So, what happens at the temple, anyway?" Davis asked, never seeing the actual process before. Kari switched the map off and put her D-3 away, finished finding the temple and route.  
  
"Well it's nothing too exciting." Kari explained. "The temples let the guardian Digimon cross between this dimension and the one they watch the Digital World from. When I enter, the guardian crosses over to meet with me and give me a portion of their energy that gets stored in my Digivice for when we find the Cataclysm." Davis nodded his head a bit, but it still seemed like it overwhelmed him a bit from the look on his face.  
  
"If it's that important, maybe we should get going." Veemon suggested from below Kari and Davis. "Besides, it looks like it could storm soon." Kari looked up and sure enough a mass of black clouds was starting to move in, lightning flashes already visible in the dark masses. It seemed strange, though, she didn't see any sign of a storm when they got there. This was the Digital World, though, the unusual was to be expected no matter how strange.  
  
"Guess you're right, Veemon, I don't want to meet Ebonwumon soaking wet." Kari replied. She looked over at her Digimon, who was still talking to Patamon, and waived both of them over. Both caught the motion from the corners of their eyes and made their way over to join them. Kari then looked to TK, who was still occupied in his own thoughts.  
  
"TK, we're leaving for the temple." Kari said to him. "We have to go now or we'll get caught in the storm." TK apparently hadn't noticed the storm clouds, either, looking up to see for himself. It didn't storm in the Digital World often, but when it did it was always severe. It looked like the temple was the only shelter around so now TK had even less of a choice but to go there with Kari.  
  
"Alright, let's get going." TK said reluctantly, turning to her and walking over to join them. Once he did Kari started off, the rest in tow, being the only one that was sure of the right direction. Davis and Veemon were close behind, with Patamon and Gatomon walking side by side, and TK bringing up the rear, not wanting to walk any faster than he had to. As they walked, they would occasionally look back at the sky, watching the storm's progression. Unfortunately it seemed like no matter how fast they walked, the storm only got closer. After a while it seemed like it was almost on top of them and the temple was still out of sight.  
  
"Guys, we aren't going to make it before the storm hits." Davis said. "Maybe we should stop and find shelter until it passes." Davis had a good idea, but unfortunately looking around, they were still in the plains, nothing but hills and grass around them.  
  
"Good idea, if there was any shelter around." Gatomon said, making Davis realize the flaw in his idea. The closest thing to shelter seemed to be the patches of trees in the distance, but it would end up being worse than better if they went there.  
  
"Oh yeah..." He replied, a bit embarrassed as he did. "So let's run, maybe the temple's close enough to run to." Gatomon shook her head, again shooting down an idea of his.  
  
"We don't know the kind of Digimon around here." Patamon said, explaining for Gatomon. "If we're too worn out to fight, we wouldn't be any better off than if we get caught in that storm." It was beginning to get obvious that they had little choice but to wait for the storm and take whatever rain was coming their way. Realizing this they slowed their pace down, walking at normal speed since their faster pace was only wearing them out faster. It didn't take long for the storm clouds to make it overhead, eventually darkening the entire sky. The group waited for the rain as they walked, but for some reason the rain never came, instead the clouds only flashed with lightning on occasion.  
  
"Maybe it's just a lightning storm..." Patamon said, even though he doubted it himself. As far as he knew the Digital World didn't have lightning storms. TK stopped, now looking up at the clouds overhead. They had been moving fast before but now they stopped except for one large cluster that had begun to form a swirl.  
  
"Hey, Veemon, are there tornadoes in the Digital World?" Davis asked, now looking up at the swirling clouds overhead.  
  
"Not that I know of..." Veemon said. "Then again I've seen weirder things than tornadoes here." TK hadn't ever heard of tornadoes here, either, but as the swirling clouds gained speed, he was starting to believe it was possible. When the swirl was fast enough, the center started to extend downward, forming the beginning of a cone of clouds. TK thought of running but at the rate the cone was forming, they would never get out of it's reach in time. Eventually the cone stopped reaching down, almost halfway to the ground. TK watched as the tip of the cone expelled a large object, round in shape. It opened up as it fell to the ground, revealing a pair of leathery wings. As it came closer, it became easy to recognize.  
  
"Ragnadramon..." Kari said, a bit of shock to her voice. "I almost forgot, we aren't on protected paths anymore." TK had a feeling this temple seemed to be too easy to get to. He couldn't believe he was thinking this but he was almost glad for Ragnadramon's appearance, at least this delayed their approach for a while. The dragon Digimon stopped a few yards from where they stood, glaring down at them with his glowing gold eyes. He looked to Kari for a while, the glow increasing as he did.  
  
"I sense Azulongmon's power within you, child..." Ragnadramon said, his voice as threatening as ever. "I do not know how you evaded me to collect it, but I assure you it will not happen again." Kari wasn't aware Ragnadramon could sense the energy of the guardians. She was hoping he would think they had only gone to one temple instead of two, it would have helped when they went after Cataclysm.  
  
"You created those storms?" Gatomon asked, a tone of anger to her question. "What, you wanted a few flashes of light to do your work for you?" Ragnadramon shot his glance at Gatomon, his eyes flashing suddenly. An invisible force threw Gatomon back a few feet, punishment for her cocky comment.  
  
"My hope was to follow you to the temple." The dragon replied. "I assumed you would go there for shelter with a storm coming, but I did not expect you to slow down instead. Needless to say, I became impatient to destroy you." That was helpful to hear, knowing he didn't know the temple locations meant they didn't have to worry about him finding them before they did. TK didn't pay attention, however, missing that fact. He was just hoping this would drag on long enough to discourage Kari from continuing to the temple.  
  
"So what, you couldn't destroy us last time!" Patamon said defiantly. Unfortunately it was a false courage, they only lived through the first encounter because of Baihumon, Ragnadramon still outclassed them in power.  
  
"I did do research." Ragnadramon said. "This area's guardian is a turtle. I doubt he'll come charging to the rescue. Besides, this time I brought some company with me." As he said this a crack appeared in midair beside him, similar to how he originally appeared to them. This one was much longer to the ground and smaller, though. As more cracks formed, TK and Kari could only guess at what was about to come. Davis, on the other hand, didn't know what the big deal was, not seeing how Ragnadramon originally appeared. He was too worried about the giant red-scaled dragon in front of him.   
  
Eventually the cracks burst outward, sending shards of reality in all directions, but again none did any damage or had any tangibility to them. What appeared from the hole that had formed made everyone in the group gasp slightly. Two Digimon had appeared, one that looked like a Patamon except with black fur, another that looked like Gatomon, again with black fur but her gloves were purple instead of orange.  
  
"These two are Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon." Ragnadramon said, referring to the two Digimon that were now beside them. "They are creations of my own design. I thought a bit of psychological warfare would be interesting." As much as TK and Kari were amazed by this turn, Patamon and Gatomon didn't even know what to think. They were now standing in front of distorted mirror images of themselves, their forms copied and corrupted by Ragnadramon.  
  
"Can we please fight them now, my lord?" BlackGatomon asked. Even her voice sounded like Gatomon's, but with a more vicious and sinister tone.  
  
"Yeah, I've been dying to get at these poor excuses for Digimon." Tsukaimon added, the same sinister edge to his voice.  
  
"Very well then..." Ragnadramon replied. "Do not destroy them completely, though, that is a pleasure you shall reserve for me." The doppelgangers grinned, glaring at their respective counterparts, eager to fight. Gatomon was about to do the same when she realized she had yet to Digivolve and regain her claw gloves. Veemon ran up to stand by his friends, as eager to fight as the duplicate Digimon. He couldn't help but feel a little left out, though, as there was no black Veemon for him to fight.  
  
"You outnumber them, guys." Davis said, trying to encourage their three Digimon. "Digivolve and take them out!" Veemon became a bit too eager and jumped forward, wanting to get in the first shot.  
  
"Veemon digivolve to..." Veemon's body flashed with light as his energy picked up, engulfing his body. The light expanded until it finally burst, a blinding flash of light surrounding his area. When it faded, a much taller version of Veemon was in the rookie Digimon's place. He looked like a lanky blue dinosaur with a blade coming off his head and an X across his chest. He also had a pair of white leather wings, but they didn't look quite strong enough to fly with. "ExVeemon!" The new champion Digimon landed with a loud stomp, not much farther in front of his friends than he started.  
  
"Patamon digivolve to..." Patamon took his turn, white light surrounding him as a mass of white feathers flew from under him. The light flashed, replacing Patamon with a humanoid figure clad in white and blue, with six angel wings on his back. He wore a metal helmet with no eye holes and carried a golden staff at his side. "Angemon!" The second digivolution complete, Angemon flew up a bit to get in a better spot to attack.  
  
"Let's wait for their first move." Angemon said to ExVeemon. "We don't want to jump the gun and get caught by them." ExVeemon wasn't listening much, too concerned with his own strike plan.  
  
"Forget that, let's get them before they get a chance to act!" ExVeemon replied, lunging forward at the two, using his wings to glide through the air. He was going for BlackGatmon, but she didn't seem at all worried.  
  
"BlackGatomon digivolve to..." The black feline was quickly engulfed in a black aura, with dark light pouring out and forming a pillar around her. When it lifted the cat had been replaced by a tall female in black, with broken black wings on her back and an eerie red glow to her eyes. "LadyDevimon!" ExVeemon tried to stop, just now realizing his mistake. It was too late as LadyDevimon attacked, swinging a leg up and side kicking ExVeemon in the side, knocking him away easily.  
  
"So they can Digivolve, too..." Kari said, her eyes locked on the familiar devil enemy. "Gatomon, you're up." Gatomon nodded, not sure about what was to come. Her last one on one fight with a LadyDevimon she barely managed to beat.  
  
"Gatomon digivolve to..." Gatomon's body began to glow with pink light, her form changing from feline to human. Her hands became covered, one by a glove, the other by a pink ribbon. A set of 8 angel wings appeared on her back, and a helmet similar to Angemon's finished her new form. "Angewomon!" All three of the Digidestined Digimon were now Digivolved, but still only had one opponent in LadyDevimon.  
  
"Tsukaimon!" Ragnadramon snapped. "What are you waiting for? Digivolve and help LadyDevimon, she is outnumbered. Do not hold back, though." Tsukaimon nodded, understanding what he meant.  
  
"Tsukaimon digivolve to..." The black Patamon began to take on a black glow, with dark purple rays of energy around him. The rays turned up, surrounding Tsukaimon. When they faded, the black Patamon was replaced by yet another familiar face, this one of Angemon's past. "Devimon!" The black devil Digimon flew up a bit, matching Angemon's height. The angel Digimon was about to attack when Devimon began to glow with dark light again. "Devimon digivolve to..." This was what Ragnadramon meant by not holding back. The devil wasted no time building up energy once again, engulfed in dark light again. This time when it faded, a skeletal Digimon was in his place, wielding a vicious looking sickle. "SkullSatamon!" This one looked just like the one Daemon had used against them before, but obviously this one had more of a mean streak than even that one.  
  
"That's too much for even the three of us." Angewomon admitted. She looked over at Angemon, who was still waiting for their opponents to attack. "Angemon, you had better Digivolve, we'll stand a better chance." If he could, Angemon would have Digivolved to Ultimate right away.  
  
"He can't Digivolve..." TK said, his voice still sounding cold. "He doesn't have the energy anymore." Kari and Davis looked at TK, confused about his explanation. The two didn't know what he meant, only Angemon did. TK had abandoned all hope, the element of TK that fueled MagnaAngemon, and without it Angemon was restricted to Champion form.  
  
"Good for us to know!" SkullSatamon said in a cackling voice. "The boy's Digimon is helpless, we can pick his friends off and have some fun before we kill them!" LadyDevimon seemed to like the idea, looking over at ExVeemon, who had just managed to get to his feet after the sharp kick. She then turned to her true target, Angewomon.  
  
"Darkness Wing!" LadyDevimon folded her wings around her, then threw them open quickly, releasing a swarm of purple bats. They seemed faster than the ones the previous LadyDevimon used, hitting Angewomon before she could react, forcing her back.  
  
"Skull Hammer!" SkullSatamon fell to the ground, his sickle over his head as he did. When he hit ground, he brought the sickle down, driving it into the ground and sending a bolt of red energy through the ground to ExVeemon. The dinosaur Digimon was still too winded to move quickly and got the full impact of the blast, exploding as it found it's mark. ExVeemon was thrown back hard, but managed to maintain some concentration, remaining in Champion form. It was all he could do, though, now too hurt to move. Davis panicked, running over to check on his Digimon without thinking about the two Digimon that had attacked ExVeemon already.  
  
"Now for this one..." LadyDevimon said, turning her attention to Angemon. SkullSatamon rose into the air again, his sickly poised to attack again. Angemon was hardly about to let them do as they will, quickly building energy into his fist.  
  
"Hand of Fate!" Without warning Angemon attacked, firing the gold beam at SkullSatamon. The Digimon only laughed as it came at him, not worried at all. He lunged his scythe forward, meeting the gold beam before it reached him, slicing it apart into smaller energy parts that missed their target.  
  
"Pathetic!" LadyDevimon said. She lunged forward quickly, taking Angemon by the neck. The angel Digimon dropped his staff as she grabbed hold of him, too surprised to keep hold of it. LadyDevimon grinned and tightened her grip, slowly choking Angemon.  
  
"Celestial Arrow!" A white arrow shot between Angemon and LadyDevimon, cutting the female devil across her arm. She flinched in pain, but did not let go. LadyDevimon looked to the side to see Angewomon, recovered from the swarm of bats and already cocking another light arrow. "Get your hand off of him, now!" LadyDevimon couldn't help but feel a bit of intimidation, the tone of Angewomon's voice was hatred, anger, hardly anything she would have expected from an angel.  
  
"Coming of Ragnarok!" Before Angewomon could react she was already engulfed by a massive red beam, making her shake just from the impact of the blast. She was in immense pain, but managed to slip out of the beam and fall to the ground. Just before she hit she lost focus, dedigivolving back into Gatomon. Her gloves had returned as she said, but for how banged up she was it hardly mattered. Kari had watched the entire scene, too horrified to move, tears welled up in her eyes. Without thinking she ran over to Gatomon, in the middle of the battle area, checking on her fallen Digimon. To her relief Gatomon was still alive and still conscious, not taking the full force of the blast.  
  
"No interference." Ragnadramon said. "This is just getting good, I would rather not have it spoiled." TK wasn't listening, watching Angemon, still in LadyDevimon's grip. He was already going to lose Kari, now his Digimon was in danger, it was too much. What kept him from breaking down and leaving now, he didn't know.  
  
"Nail Bone!" SkullSatamon shot his free hand forward, firing a small storm of pointed bones at Angemon, ripping at him with each nail he fired. Angemon endured the pain as long as he could, but it eventually became too much and he was forced to dedigivolve back into Patamon, now unconscious and in LadyDevimon's hand. Meanwhile Kari and Gatomon were watching, with Gatomon barely able to move.  
  
"No, Patamon..." She moaned, trying to sit up. Kari was holding onto her tight, though, not wanting her to go back into the fight.  
  
"Gatomon, stay down." Kari pleaded. "You'll only get hurt again, they're too strong." Gatomon wasn't listening, though, still struggling to get out of Kari's grasp.  
  
"Kari, let me go!" Gatomon begged. "I can't let him die! I have to help him." Try as she might, Kari wouldn't let go. Finally Gatomon stopped, turning to face Kari. She looked down at her Digimon, nearly gasping at the sight of tears in her eyes. "Kari, you don't understand! Wizardmon died, you're going to die, I can't let him die! I don't want to lose everyone I love, at least let me save him!" Now Kari was starting to realize what TK was feeling, seeing it in her own Digimon. An unstoppable urge to save the one she loved, she would give her own life in an instant to save Patamon's. TK must have felt the same way, and Gatomon would end up the same way if this continued.  
  
"...Alright, do what you can." Kari said, reluctantly letting go of Gatomon. As soon as she was free Gatomon ran off toward LadyDevimon, not sure where she was finding so much energy suddenly. As much as she hurt, as strong as they were, she had to do something, she didn't care what, just anything to get them to let him go. As Gatomon ran off, Kari was still sorting out all of this. She admired her Digimon, even if this burst of courage and energy was driven by love, but mainly because she had someone willing to do this for her, the same that TK was to her. If this was to be her fate, she was glad to see Gatomon reach such a stage before her time came. She watched as Gatomon suddenly stopped, now close to the two devil Digimon.  
  
"Patamon!!!" Gatomon shouted, hitting her limit point. She felt overwhelmed, her desire to save Patamon was unreal, but what could she do now that she was here? Only thing she could do, Digivolve and hope for the best, but her surge of energy was so powerful it was unreal, overwhelming as it engulfed her, overtaking her. "Gatomon Warp-Digivolve to..." Gatomon exploded in a field of pink energy, Angewomon appearing from the blast. The angel Digimon was quickly engulfed by the same light, growing wildly. From it's core came a large dragon Digimon, long in shape like an oriental dragon and covered in pink fur, with two powerful arms and legs. Her head formed a mane of fur and a pair of powerful horns, lack with pink rings around them. Along her back sprouted five sets of wings, covering the length of her back. She flew into the air, spiraling around into a small coil as she opened her now bright green eyes. "Magnadramon!" Kari looked on at the now Mega level Digimon, amazed by the turn of events. She must have Digivolved out of sheer determination to save Patamon.  
  
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon glared up at SkullSatamon, opening her mouth to fire a spiral of light green flames, flying at tremendous speed. Before he realized he was under attack SkullSatamon was blasted away from Patamon and LadyDevimon, overwhelmed by the sudden mass of flame around him and thrown to the ground with a sharp impact.  
  
"What was..." LadyDevimon tried to look over at whatever had attacked, only to be taken by surprised as Magnadramon flew above her, taking hold of LadyDevimon's arm with her claws, clamping down hard. The devil shrieked in pain, dropping the unconscious Patamon. Magnadramon released her foe and swooped down, flying under Patamon and letting him land gently on her back, losing her top two wings to hold him down.  
  
"I won't let anything hurt you, Patamon, I promise." Magnadramon said, gliding down to the ground to let Patamon off and into TK's arms, who had tried not to get in the middle of the fight. Ragnadramon watched on, only intrigued by the turn of events.  
  
"This development was not expected..." The dragon replied. Magnadramon had taken to the air again and was now flying to intercept Ragnadramon. The opposing dragon was still bigger, but her power was much better matched now and even if it wasn't, she had to get even for his cheap shot earlier. "LadyDevimon, SkullSatamon, to me!" Hearing the command, LadyDevimon, who was still gripping her sore arm, flew back over to Ragnadramon. SkullSatamon, however, was still hurt from the Fire Tornado and made it back at a much slower pace. "We shall return for now. Neither of you are a match for a Mega level." With that Ragnadramon turned, waiving his hand to open a hold in reality. The two devil Digimon flew into it, disappearing into the blackness of the hole. Magnadramon reached Ragnadramon as the two left, waiting for him to retreat, as well.  
  
"How you Digidestined managed to defeat so many Digimon relying on sheer luck, I will never know." Ragnadramon said. "Your pet dragon is hardly impressive, but should you be lucky enough to accomplish such a feat again I assure you I will show you how meaningless your new trick really is." With that the red dragon backed off, entering the hole in reality himself and letting it close once he was inside, vanishing from sight. Magnadramon turned and flew back over to Kari, dedigivolving back to Gatomon in midair, landing in Kari's arms. Kari wasn't sure how she managed to go back to her normal form, traditionally she should have gone a stage down. She figured it didn't matter, she and Patamon were both safe, that's what was important.   
  
"How did you warp-digivolve?" Kari asked, still not confident about what happened. "Only Agumon and Gabumon can do that and I didn't see you stab yourself with your own arrow." Gatomon laughed a bit, but didn't know what to say in response.  
  
"I don't really know, I just had to save Patamon." She replied. "I guess that's what it took." TK looked down at Patamon, who was still unconscious and banged up from the fight. The three scratches on his cheek were gone from the Digivolution but the damage he had now made them even more minor.  
  
"Now if you could do that, Kari wouldn't have to die..." TK whispered. He couldn't convince Kari to stop, he couldn't think of any alternative to her sacrifice, and he couldn't wait for Ragnadramon to appear so often that she gave up. He was becoming desperate as his options diminished, with no new ones replacing the now useless ones. Being so close to the third temple TK was trying to think as fast as he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he always came to the same thing. Kari was going to die and he could do nothing to prevent it.  
  
End Chapter 12  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 13 - Meeting  
  
Note: Unfortunately I can't post URLs to SkullSatamon, LadyDevimon, and Magnadramon as I intended. I'm sorry, but you're on your own if you want to see them.  
  
Want to know when a new chapter is posted? Use this link to sign up for my mailing list to know when new chapters and stories are up!  
  
http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html 


	13. Meeting

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 13 - Meeting  
  
Kari leaned back, resting herself against the base of a tree. After the meeting with Ragnadramon and his two doppelgangers the entire group was exhausted and had decided to rest at the next patch of trees they came to. The temple was in sight now, but even that seemed too far to walk after the battle. She was still reflecting on the events of the battle, even now as she watched her Digimon taking care of Patamon's injuries, it seemed unreal. One night she finds Gatomon in love with Patamon, and the next day she can warp-digivolve. Kari guessed it had to be connected, but more importantly she was just happy for her Digimon on both accomplishments.  
  
TK found himself watching his injured Digimon being treated by Gatomon, the same thing Kari was doing, but he wasn't focused on the same thing. Instead he was trying to figure out how Gatomon could be so willing to let Kari keep going, going to such extremes to drive Ragnadramon off to continue the quest. If this was anyone else TK probably would have done the same thing, risk his life for another who was fated to die, anyway. Not for Kari, though, if it was the last thing he did he was going to find a way to stop this quest before she finished it.  
  
"TK, come on." Davis said, breaking TK from his thoughts. "Don't zone out on us now, we're almost done for the day." He looked up, seeing Kari had already left her spot against the tree and Gatomon staring at TK, waiting for him to pick up the sleeping Patamon.  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry." TK said, only half hearted in his apology. He walked passed Davis and over to Gatomon, kneeling down and picking up Patamon in his arms once he reached her. The small Digimon still had some bruises and scuff marks on him, but it was nothing he couldn't sleep off. TK stood and looked over at Kari, watching Gatomon already running up to join her. Davis had also joined her, with Veemon at his side, not much better off than Patamon but still able to stand and walk on his own. As much as TK regretted admitting it Veemon in rookie form was tougher than his Digimon.  
  
The small group made their way across the remainder of the plains until they reached the temple. It looked much like the previous two, a bit more moss covered than the others being out in the open, but with a drawing of a two-headed turtle with a large tree on the back of it's shell.  
  
"That's Ebonwumon." Kari said, remembering the notes form the map. "He watches over the northern Digital World and controls nature. No wonder this area has so many plants." Davis looked around the building, never getting a good look at Azulongmon's temple. It didn't seem like a building such an important Digimon would inhabit to him.  
  
"I wonder how Ragnadramon missed this place..." Davis said, stepping back from the temple. "It's in the middle of nowhere and he wanted to find it, why not just fly ahead of us and look down?" Davis had a good point, there wasn't anything in the area here that could have hidden the temple like the other two had.  
  
"You don't suppose he's near sighted, do you?" Veemon said. The comment only drew an embarrassed look from Davis, who now had a nervous grin on his face.  
  
"Judging from the hit I took, I doubt that, Veemon." Gatomon said, rubbing her head as she remembered that last blast from Ragnadramon.  
  
"Maybe Ebonwumon would know." Kari said. "I'll ask when he comes to give me his energy." Kari began to turn to the entrance of the temple to collect the energy when a thought came to mind. She turned her head to look at TK, who was still silent and standing away from the group.  
  
"TK, I want you to come with me this time." She said. "If Ebonwumon does know something it would be better for all of us to hear it." TK had been hoping to remain outside, now having a hatred of these temples. Maybe it wasn't too late, after all things had changed now.  
  
"Kari, are you sure this is how it has to be?" TK asked. "You've got Magnadramon now, the guardians couldn't have known we'd have a Mega level Digimon with us. Maybe we can fight the Cataclysm without going through anymore temples." Kari sighed, hoping TK wouldn't do this again, it only made things harder. It did bring up a good point, though, how could the guardians have known Gatomon would gain such a powerful form? Kari quickly dismissed the idea, afraid of losing her nerve to keep going.  
  
"TK, Magnadramon was just a few feet from Ragnadramon, but I didn't exactly see him intimidated by her." Kari said, countering TK's idea. "We haven't beaten him yet, both times we've met him he only left because something new happened. He's toying with us, getting to our heads. If the Cataclysm can create a Digimon like that, it can't be possible to beat it with one Mega." TK refused to believe it, Magnadramon could beat two Ultimate Digimon easily, she had to be able to beat Ragnadramon. Then he had an idea, remembering Patamon in his arms.  
  
"What if Patamon can warp-digivolve, too?" He said, holding Patamon out a little. "Two could beat them easily! I'll make him Digivolve to save you!" Kari couldn't believe what TK was saying, Patamon was as important to TK as she was, now he was talking about endangering his own Digimon.  
  
"And create another SkullGreymon?" Kari said, reminding TK about the last Digidestined that forced his Digimon to digivolve. She hadn't seen it herself but she heard it enough times from Tai. "TK, even if there is another way, this is the only one we know will work for sure. Better this than risk a foolish attempt and endanger both worlds even more." TK lowered his head, eyes closed, trembling with anger. Not at Kari, but at this quest, the temple before him, most of all himself for not being able to do anything to save the most important thing in his life. He took a slow breath, trying to calm himself down. TK looked up, opening his eyes toward the entrance of the temple.  
  
"...Alright, let's just hurry and get this done." TK said. It was bad enough Kari had to die from this quest but this was the second time he had to carry an injured Patamon around with him, at this rate he'd lose him, as well. He walked passed Kari and Davis, entering the temple ahead of them. The four watched as he entered, none quite sure what to make of TK's behavior. Silently they decided not to make anything of it and walked ahead, following TK into the temple.  
  
**********  
  
Inside the temple looked much like the previous two, but the bricks this one was made of seemed to have a green color to them. The ground wasn't stone, either, instead a thick layer of grass was growing except for the circular area around the altar, which was still solid stone. The inner walls had some moss on them, as well, either from the temple's age or the enhanced nature of the area.  
  
Kari walked up to the center of the area, pulling out her Digivice as she did. She reached the altar, placing the D-3 into it like she had done twice before. Kari stepped back to rejoin the others, waiting for the reaction. It didn't take long to happen as the floor around the altar began to glow with a bright green light. Soon the altar lit up, firing the green light into the roof of the temple, causing an opening to form. The light slowly expanded, eventually taking up the entire stone circle on the floor. The light gained brightness, forcing them to cover their eyes. The light flashed, covering the entire room in the green light. When it faded, the group found themselves in front of Ebonwumon, who was now standing just behind the altar. He seemed smaller than he should have been, knowing how big Azulongmon was, but they guessed it was just a form they could choose the size of when it suited them. Ebonwumon looked around, both heads looking over the Digidestined and their Digimon.  
  
"...We didn't anticipate an addition to your group." The right head said, looking at Davis and Veemon. "Azulongmon warned you that no others should join you on this quest, you're the only two that can stop the Cataclysm no matter how many join you." Kari knew this, but the guardians weren't aware of the circumstances they caused.  
  
"He's not with us to fight Cataclysm." Kari explained. "TK isn't taking my fate very well, he can't be a reliable protector in his state. I needed someone along that could take that place." The right head of Ebonwumon again looked Davis over, who smiled nervously as he did.  
  
"...then I believe we have underestimated his feelings for you." The left head said. "Never the less he will be needed regardless of how he feels. Now then..." Ebonwumon closed both sets of eyes, concentrating. The leaves of the tree on his back began to glow, as did the Digicores hanging off of the tree like fruit. The energy focused in front of the tree, creating a bolt of power that flew from Ebonwumon and into Kari's Digivice, which seemed to have no trouble absorbing so much power. After a minute the glow died down, the transfer of energy complete.  
  
"Thank you, Ebonwumon." Kari said, reclaiming her Digivice. The turtle nodded with both heads in response, a silent thank you for her efforts, as well. "We have a question, though. We encountered Ragnadramon coming here, he said he was looking for this temple. What kept him from seeing it, though, there's nothing here hiding it." Ebonwumon smiled for a moment, apparently happy about something, then shook his heads no.  
  
"I'm glad you withstood Ragnadramon without my help." The guardian replied from his right head. "After the first area's incident Baihumon worried you wouldn't be able to survive another encounter, despite Azulongmon's confidence in you. I see he chose well, after all." Kari looked down at Gatomon, who was smiling at Ebonwumon's compliments. "As for your question, the temples are under our own power. They exist only to those that know it's exact location on the maps we have provided you. To him this place was just another patch of grass." Well that explained it. Kari did wonder why they had been given maps from the beginning, it would have been easy enough to find the temples with just general directions.  
  
"That has become a problem, though." Ebonwumon continued, his left head taking over for his right. "Your Digivice has only a limited space, as it is it will barely be able to contain the final guardian's energy, being the strongest of us. You no longer have the space required to hold the map." Both heads now looked over to TK, who had only been paying mild attention the guardians words. "Child of Hope, you will have to take the final map in place of Kari." TK now snapped to attention, catching his name. He was still eager to leave, whatever it took to get it done faster was fine with him.  
  
"Alright, I'll keep the map this time." TK said dismally. Ebonwumon was now starting to see what Kari had been talking about, from all the guardian had heard about TK, he wasn't like this. Regardless Ebonwumon closed his eyes, focusing on TK's D-3. It only took a moment to finish the transfer, being smaller than the energy he had transferred to Kari.  
  
"It is complete." The right head answered. "Remember, you must see the temple on the map in order to see it in the Digital World. Otherwise you will not be granted entry." Kari nodded in response, understanding. Davis, on the other hand, was more confused than understanding.  
  
"Hey, wait a second." Davis said, interrupting. "I didn't see the map to the last temple and I still saw it." Kari hadn't thought about that, forgetting how much Davis really had missed by coming into the quest late.  
  
"Unfortunately Azulongmon cannot afford the energy for such safeguards." Ebonwumon's left head said. "Because he gave two of his Digicores to you already, he has become the weakest of us. That is why his temple is at the end of the highroad, guarded by the gateway. It takes less energy than the cloaks the others have." That seemed to explain everything, Davis didn't have a blank look on his face anymore so Kari guessed he was satisfied.  
  
"Now go, Digidestined." The right head said. "Duchoumon awaits you in the southern area. We shall wait to hear of your success there. Good luck." With that Ebonwumon took on a dim glow, slowly reverting into the energy that brought him there. Once his form had vanished, leaving only the green light that he originated from, It spread out, entering the altar, which beamed the energy back up, returning Ebonwumon to his plain of existence with the other guardians, leaving the Digidestined and Digimon to themselves.  
  
"...did I miss something?" Patamon said, dazed but conscious again. TK was glad his Digimon was awake again, but Gatomon looked even happier, relieved he was okay.  
  
"Just another day in the Digiworld." Kari replied. "It's time to leave, though, just take it easy till you're home, Patamon." The orange Digimon was relieved to hear that, too tired to do much except sleep. TK watched Patamon as he closed his eyes again, deserving all the rest he could get. Looking down at him, TK regretted what he said earlier, not sure what got into him when he said he would force Patamon to become a Mega. It was all he could think of, though, his only option and it was not only dangerous, but useless as well. He still refused the idea that Kari had to die to beat the Cataclysm, though, no matter how wild or risky there had to be another way to stop this quest or the Cataclysm without Kari killing herself. He just had to think of it.  
  
**********  
  
After returning to the real world, TK returned home, wanting to avoid any of Kari and Davis's "cheer up" ideas. The group decided it was better to wait a day before they went to the next temple. Kari wanted to spend a day with her parents and family since it might be her last, as well. Patamon had seemed happy about the decision, feeling better but still not one hundred percent. He had quickly found his bed in the corner of TK's room, lying down for a real nap, rather than the kind induced by a blast to the head he had been having lately.  
  
TK wasn't in as much of a resting mood, though. Instead he had a phone receiver to his ear, listening to a dial tone as he waited. He didn't have any ideas left to try, hopefully the one he was calling would have a better idea of what to do.  
  
"Hello?" Someone said at the other end. TK immediately recognized his older brother's voice, despite the sounds of his band rehearsing behind him.  
  
"Hey Matt, it's TK." He replied, hoping his brother could hear him over the band. TK heard Matt tell the band to stop while he was on the phone with his little bother, which had a bit of embarrassment to it, still being called that. He heard a harmonica continuing to play, which stopped when Matt told Gabumon to stop. TK wasn't aware Matt's Digimon had joined the band.  
  
"Hey, bro." Matt said, happy to hear from his brother again. "You don't call that often, sometimes I wonder if you forgot about me." TK laughed a bit, the first time he had in days. His brother did have a way of cheering him up.  
  
"After all the times I had to choke down your burnt dinners, you think I could forget you?" TK replied. For a second he had forgotten this was an important call, quickly regaining composure. "Matt, there's something I have to talk to you about." Again there was silence on the phone except for what sounded like footsteps, meaning Matt was getting some distance from the band.  
  
"Alright, what's up?" Matt replied. This was going to be difficult, he didn't want to worry his brother or get him too involved. He had run out of options, though, this was the last thing he could do before the fourth temple tomorrow.  
  
"Well, me, Davis, and Kari are on this quest in the Digital World..." TK began. "We have to collect energy from four temples to stop a really powerful enemy. Today we cleared our third temple." Next was the hard part, which TK still wasn't sure how to explain.  
  
"Well it sounds like you have things pretty well controlled." Matt said. "For a second I thought you were going to ask me and Gabumon to help out." TK finally decided it was best just to tell him and hope for the best, despite what little good hope had done for him lately.  
  
"No, the guardians of the Digital World already told us you guys can't be of help." TK answered. "My problem is... the only way to actually beat this thing... is for Kari to sacrifice herself..." There was a moment of silence on the other end, most likely Matt collecting his thoughts from the announcement.  
  
"...You sure there's no way around it?" Matt said. Unfortunately TK was hoping for more than that as a first reaction, as it was he was surprised Matt hadn't yelled.  
  
"That's why I called." TK replied. "According to the guardians there is no other way, but I can't accept that. Problem is I can't figure out any other alternative, this enemy has a Digimon named Ragnadramon guarding it that makes all four Dark Masters look like cupcakes." Silence again, which was either Matt thinking or trying to guess how powerful this enemy was.  
  
"Does Kari's family know about any of this?" Matt asked. That was actually a good question, in all of his own worrying TK neglected to find out if they knew.  
  
"I'm not sure, really." TK said. "Still if they knew, then Tai would know and come charging in, and even WarGreymon can't beat this thing." That was TK's guess, though, if it was true no number of allies could actually help.  
  
"How do you know that?" Matt asked. "Maybe him and MetalGarurumon together could make a difference." TK wished this was easier to explain, it was the same as when they brought Davis into the quest, there was just too much to completely tell him about.  
  
"Well Ragnadramon stared down Gatomon's Mega form today and didn't even flinch if that's any indication." TK answered. Matt could only guess as to how Gatomon had reached Mega form, but decided it wasn't important.  
  
"Well I'm afraid I won't be much help then." Matt said, a tone of regret to his voice. "If I think of anything I'll let you know." TK was afraid of that response, he was right back at the same dead end now.  
  
"It was a long shot, anyway..." TK said honestly. "Don't tell Tai or any of the others about this, okay? The fewer people that know about this, the better." TK knew his brother and knew he wouldn't tell anyone about something like this, anyway.  
  
"Alright, I won't." Matt said. "TK... You're one of the smartest people I know, if there's any other way at all, no matter how outrageous, I know you'll find it." TK was glad to hear the words of confidence from his older brother, it was the only backup he had received since this mess started.  
  
"Thanks, Matt... It's good to hear someone's on my side." TK replied. "I'll talk to you later." With that TK took the receiver from his ear and replaced it back on the phone, knowing his brother would get back to his band practice as soon as he could rather than the usual good-byes. "No matter how outrageous..." TK repeated, confident that he had already thought of every outrageous thing there was. If Mega Digimon couldn't beat this, if the rest of the Digidestined couldn't beat this, if even the guardians couldn't beat this, then how was it possible to defeat it any other way?  
  
Suddenly a new idea came to TK, but the very thought repulsed him. It was definitely the most outrageous idea he had yet, but it was by far the last one he wanted to do, as well. Still, tomorrow would bring the final temple and then it could be as soon as moments afterwards when Kari would be expected to die. Coming down to the wire, TK saw no alternative. As much as he didn't like it, it was all he had.  
  
**********  
  
Late that night, TK found himself in the Digital World, wandering through a forest, stopping every time he reached a clearing. He had been doing this for about an hour, waiting for the inevitable. He walked alone, without even Patamon to guard his side. It had been so long since he walked through the Digital World alone, and after his history there he was sure any wicked Digimon would kill for such an opportunity. Exactly what he was counting on... TK came to a larger clearing and stopped, again waiting patiently for what he expected.  
  
It wasn't long before it came true. A small, black portal opened up in midair, bending reality around it. It widened slowly until a pair of claws emerged, pulling it open, stretching it until it snapped, shattering reality around it, darkening the area in black light. When the light faded and reality restored itself, TK found himself standing in front of what he had been searching for, Ragnadramon. The massive dragon Digimon towered over TK, but did not intimidate the boy, not now at least. Beside Ragnadramon stood Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon, both with curious looks on their faces as they watched TK.  
  
"You are foolish to venture here alone, Child of Hope." Ragnadramon said mockingly, glaring down at TK. "I have been watching your actions for quite some time and you don't seem to be doing much but wandering aimlessly. What did you hope to accomplish by such senseless acts?" TK's thoughts had finally come together in this moment. He had been wondering why he was doing what he was about to do, but Kari's life was at stake, and many things in life must be done no matter how much you don't want to do them. It felt like his emotions were warring with his logic, preventing this from happening, but logic had to win out in the end. His internal struggle still raging, TK forced himself down onto one knee, his eyes gazing down at the ground. Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon stepped back, surprised at the sudden sign of submission, but Ragnadramon just glared on, his eyes glowing slightly brighter, watching the boy closely.  
  
"I..." TK said, struggling to get the words out. They could only be delayed, though, not stopped. "...I need your help..." TK looked up at the dragon Digimon that was once his enemy, now with any hope his ally, a look of deep regret and sorrow in his face. He hated this more than anything he had done in his life, he never expected to want to join his enemy. However this was the only way to save Kari and it was true, Ragnadramon couldn't be beaten. That was how the old saying went, though, TK couldn't beat him, but he could join him. Ragnadramon noticed the look, a long grin forming on his reptilian face, but did not care about it. As far as he was concerned, this was a victory to be treasured.   
  
End Chapter 13  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 14 - Never  
  
So let's recap... We have Kari who is destined to die to save both worlds, our favorite two Digimon are in love, Gatomon can become Magnadramon, Davis and Veemon are in on the quest, and now TK seeks aide from the last source he expected. (I'm sure not a one of you saw that one coming, either ^_^) And this story is only half way through! The next 13 chapters are going to be ones to remember, so get ready!  
  
Want to know when a new chapter is posted? Use this link to sign up for my mailing list to know when new chapters and stories are up!  
  
http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html 


	14. Never

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 14 - Never  
  
TK now stood in front of Ragnadramon, who up until now had been an enemy, now TK's last hope to save Kari. Now it was down to how the dragon Digimon took TK's request, most likely he could think it was a trick or trap they had set up. Then again he seemed very unconcerned by their best Digimon, Magnadramon, he probably felt he had little to fear from them.  
  
"You surprise me, child..." Ragnadramon said, an honest tone of amazement to his deep, harmonic voice. "What could be so important to you that you would turn to me?" TK still found it surprising, as well, but this was too important to do anything less.  
  
"...It's Kari, the girl I've been traveling with." TK said, unsure if Ragnadramon knew their names. "She's really important to me... I've loved her for years, but she's supposed to die when this journey ends. I don't want her to die but I can't find another way to finish the quest, so I have to stop it. I thought since you seem to always know where we are, you could help me stop her from traveling to the last temple." Ragnadramon had been listening carefully, examining the situation he described. The two smaller Digimon, however, both looked skeptical.  
  
"Bah, he's lying." BlackGatomon said. "I say we shred him now and be done with one of them." TK looked to the black feline, hoping that wasn't what Ragnadramon came to for a conclusion.  
  
"Quiet!" Ragnadramon roared, glaring sharply at BlackGatomon. She looked back, backing off from fear of her creator. "You will have to excuse BlackGatomon. You see they are copied from your Digimon, but I removed caring and compassion and the like. They have little appreciation for love." TK found it hard to believe a Digimon born from a force so evil would talk of love.  
  
"And I'm supposed to believe you do?" TK retorted. He found it strange that he was the first that was questioning trust, but he had to know this much at least to know if this would work.  
  
"But of course." The dragon replied. "The Cataclysm that formed me was made of all evil Digimon that had been destroyed since you and your friends came to the digital world. Their wisdom lies in me and I know how powerful a human's love for another can be and what lengths they will go to for the one they love." TK found this to be like a strange dream, nothing seemed to be right about this. Then again he had never talked one on one with an evil Digimon like this, he had little to compare it to.  
  
"Fine, but you still haven't answered me." TK said. "Will you help me or won't you?" Ragnadramon looked on at TK closely, as if he was trying to read his mind and find out what TK had in mind. After what the dragon had put them through, he was ready to believe he was capable of it.  
  
"If you would come to me, then I must believe you are serious." Ragnadramon replied. "You do amaze me, boy, betraying your friends and two world for the sake of one person." TK didn't want to think of it like that, this was only a way to save Kari, nothing more.  
  
"This isn't betrayal!" TK yelled. "If there was another way, I wouldn't be here right now, believe me you were my last choice to help me." Ragnadramon's slight grin seemed to show a slight irritation at the implied insult of TK's answer.  
  
"Very well, then." The dragon replied. "If you had a plan as to how you want this done, please feel free to tell me." TK had only given a passive thought as to how this would work, if it would at all.  
  
"Well we're going to the fourth temple tomorrow." TK began. "You know where we are when we come to the Digital World so I was hoping you could find a way to stop us from collecting the last piece of energy without hurting anyone." Ragnadramon gave a glance to his two minions to his side, both not sure how to take in all of this. Their creator and one of their enemies working together?  
  
"I could do that..." Ragnadramon replied. "However, no matter what I do to your journey, your Kari may still advance and reach the temple. Without killing her, I cannot insure stopping her. I had an idea of my own, though, one that would stop the quest even if she reached the temple." TK wasn't sure what he meant, once they were there then the job was done, how could he stop her?  
  
"And that is...?" TK asked, still not trusting the dragon despite their alliance. Ragnadramon only grinned a bit more, however, not releasing the answer.  
  
"Unfortunately that is my concern, not yours." He replied. "You shall have to trust me, but I promise you it will stop Kari's quest without hurting anyone in your group. However, it will require knowing where the temple of Duchoumon is located. I must be able to see the temple to make this work." Now TK was only more skeptical. He did have the map that would let Ragnadramon find the temple, but it couldn't require such secretive information just to stop Kari from going forward.  
  
"Sorry, no deal." TK said. "I can't tell you where that temple is, you'll have to find another way." Ragnadramon let a slight chuckle escape from the back of his throat, sending a worried chill down TK's spine.  
  
"You are in no position to make demands, boy." The dragon snapped. "Tomorrow I will find you in the southern region and when I do, one of two things will happen. Either I will destroy you and your precious Kari... or I will stop her progress and end the quest that threatens her life. The latter will only occur, however, if you show me the map to the temple's location!" TK suddenly realized Ragnadramon was right. The dragon didn't have to do what TK requested, but the only way to get him to save Kari was on his terms.  
  
"...Fine, you win." TK said. Reluctantly he drew his Digivice, hitting the same tall button on the corner Kari used to activate the map. As it projected, he held it out to Ragnadramon, showing him the map and temple location. The dragon Digimon looked it over carefully, memorizing the terrain and the temple's exact spot in it. He nodded, silently telling TK he was finished with the map. TK shut off the D-3, replacing it in his pocket, hoping he wouldn't regret what he had just done.  
  
"You have made a wise move, my friend." Ragnadramon said. "Tomorrow will be the last day of your quest, without Kari's sacrifice." TK was relieved to hear that, but still held worries about how exactly Ragnadramon was planning to do this. Ultimately TK really didn't care, though, it would end their quest and Kari would be alive, that's all that mattered to him.  
  
"Then it's settled." TK said. He figured this was as even as it got, Ragnadramon didn't have to worry about the sure-fire way of being defeated and TK didn't have to worry about Kari dying. He turned away to return to the monitor that had brought him here, but turned again, looking back at the dragon. "This doesn't mean we're giving up, you know. Even with the quest stopped, we'll find a way to beat you." Ragnadramon expected such a response, nodding as he heard it.  
  
"Of course you will." He said, watching TK walk off. Once he was out of sight, Ragnadramon looked down at his doppelgangers, both still unsure of what just happened.  
  
"Don't tell me you're actually going to help that miserable human." Tsukaimon said, looking up at his creator. It was like his lord was going soft suddenly, helping a human for the sake of love.  
  
"Of course I am, Tsukaimon." Ragnadramon replied. "TK wanted me to stop his quest without killing any of his friends. That is what I shall do." The dragon's eyes suddenly glowed, his grin becoming a bit more sinister. BlackGatomon and Tsukaimon exchanged a glance, eager to see what their creator had in mind for tomorrow.  
  
**********  
  
The next morning TK didn't feel any better about what he had done than he did when he went to bed the night before. For a while he thought he had dreamed the whole thing, but it had happened and it was too late to take back. If Ragnadramon remained true to his word, however, this would all be over soon. They still had to find out how to beat him and the Cataclysm without this quest, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.  
  
Right now he found himself back with Kari, Davis, and their Digimon, all at Kari's apartment, but not in her bedroom. Instead they were in the living room of the vacant apartment, wanting to just spend time together. Kari was basically forced into taking the very cushy recliner after everyone's insistence that she relax the most, with TK and Davis both taking the couch across from it. With the quest drawing to a close they all new Kari wasn't going to be with them much longer, so they wanted to be there as much as possible while they still had her. Despite that, however, everyone knew the real reason they were there.  
  
"So what do we do after today?" Kari asked, hoping for ideas. "How do we explain what happened after I stop the Cataclysm?" That was the question that had lingered on all of their minds for days now, with the exception of TK's. Kari's family, especially Tai, weren't going to take this very well, nor would any of the other Digidestined.  
  
"Well I think the other Digidestined will know why you had to do this." Gatomon said from Kari's lap. "Except for Tai, that is." As hard as this was going to be to tell Kari's family, Tai would be worse. To this day he felt like Kari's personal guardian, to him Kari was still the sickly little girl he had watched over for most of her life and half of his.  
  
"Yeah, Tai's going to take it really hard..." Davis said, leaning back on the couch. He looked over to TK, who was leaning against the arm of the far side of the sofa. "You better tell him, TK, he does like you the best." Davis spoke the truth, Tai felt like TK was a little brother to him, but in all honesty Davis feared telling Tai himself.  
  
"I guess so..." TK said, trying to act as dreary as he had been in the last few days despite knowing Kari wouldn't die now. "Her parents are another big one, maybe that's Gatomon's job." Another truth, Gatomon had become part of the Kamiya family since they found out about her. Unfortunately Gatomon wasn't so sure about TK's suggestion, a worried look on her face.  
  
"Actually I might not be able to..." Gatomon said regretfully. "We don't know what happens to a Digimon that loses their partner. We depend on them for energy, we did before we even knew we were connected to them. What if..." Gatomon nearly choked on the idea, but fought back the urge to stop. "What if I die along with Kari when she releases that energy?" Patamon shot up, not realizing that himself. He quickly flew over, setting down in front of Gatomon on Kari's lap.  
  
"Gatomon, don't say that!" Patamon said. "You don't know for sure. Besides, how would I survive without you?" Gatomon was touched by his words, but still not sure of her own fate.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll be fine, Gatomon." Kari said. "I thought of that a long time ago, I asked Azulongmon when I went into his temple. He said you would lose your digivolutions but you'll be able to stay the way you are if we connect you to another Digidestined." Kari then looked up at TK, who was watching his Digimon panic over Gatomon. "TK, if it's alright, I want you to take Gatomon when the quest is over. I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of her." TK felt touched Kari would trust him with something so important to her. He wished he could tell her it wasn't necessary, but if she knew what he had done, her trust wouldn't be the same.  
  
"Uh... Yeah, of course." TK said. "I'd be glad to take care of her." Gatomon smiled a bit, relieved she wouldn't be dying, as well. Still, it didn't feel any better knowing she would have to live without Kari.  
  
"Well that's a conciliation, I guess." Gatomon said. "I'll get to spend every day with Patamon." Somehow Patamon seemed to enjoy the idea, smiling widely at the thought. "I really have to lose my Digivolutions, though?" Kari nodded regretfully, upset that her partner had to lose such an important aspect.  
  
"Unless TK receives a power core from a guardian, he won't have enough energy for both of you." Kari explained. "Still I'd feel better than just leaving you on your own." She looked back up to Davis and TK, both now at attention. "That still leaves the others, though." Davis looked over to TK, knowing he had enough to think about with losing Kari and getting the duty of telling Tai.  
  
"I guess that's up to me and Veemon, then." Davis said, volunteering. "Don't worry, we'll be sure and let them down easily." That seemed to wrap up the duties of telling everyone what was to happen, a relief on Kari's conscious.  
  
"Thanks, Davis." Kari said. She turned to TK, something else coming to her mind. "Hey, TK, can you come to my room with me? There's something I want to give you." TK wasn't sure what she meant, as it was he felt bad that she wanted to give him Gatomon. Kari picked up Gatomon as she stood up, turning to set her back on the recliner, then walked passed TK to her room. He stood to follow, wondering what she was talking about. He followed her insider her room, closing the door behind him.  
  
"So what did you want to give me?" TK asked. "If it's that science project we did that started crawling last year..." Kari turned, walking up to TK. He tried to back up a bit but found himself against the door. Before he could act Kari moved within inches, putting her hands on his chest before leaning up to put her lips to is. It caught TK off guard, but it didn't take long to recover, putting his hands at her waist. The kiss deepened as both got into it, but TK felt something else as Kari got closer, something wet against his cheek... tears? TK broke the kiss after another few seconds, looking at Kari and noticing the tears streaming from her eyes. This was one of the few sights TK hated seeing, it felt like something in his soul was ripping apart watching this. He brought one of his hands up to Kari's face, wiping off the tears as gently as he could.  
  
"Kari, please don't cry..." TK beckoned. "You know it hurts seeing it." Kari nodded a bit, trying to dry the tears from her cheeks herself.  
  
"TK, this might be our last time alone together..." Kari said, her voice with as much sorrow as he had ever heard. If she had been feeling as bad as he had, she was letting it out all at once.  
  
"I know it might be." TK said, still keeping his deal with Ragnadramon secret. Seeing her crying, he wished he could tell her it wouldn't be their last time together, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't. "I thought you were okay with this, though." Kari stared into TK's eyes for a second, again a painful sight from how much sadness they reflected.  
  
"TK, you aren't the only one that doesn't like this, you know." She said, turning away from TK and stepping a few feet away. She crossed her arms over her chest, shuddering a bit, trying to keep herself together. "I hate this! This was the last thing I ever wanted to do..." TK didn't realize as badly as this situation was hurting him, Kari was hurting just as much for the same reasons. He walked up behind her, putting his arms around her, trying to comfort her through her shuddering.  
  
"I know..." She said through her tears. "I just didn't expect this to feel so bad... I mean, I know I had to say goodbye like this eventually, I spent days thinking about it, trying not to break down like this..." TK tightened his embrace, now feeling her shuddering body through his arms.  
  
"Kari, don't say that." He said gently. "We don't have to let this be good-bye, even if you die at the end of this, that won't be enough to keep us apart." That much was true, at least, TK didn't view death as separation of them, just a delay.  
  
"TK, that day I told you I was going to die..." Kari continued. "...when you proposed to me... you don't know how badly I wanted to say yes, I was a second away from forgetting about the quest, the Digital World, everything... That's all I ever wanted in life, to know you would be with me forever. I dreamed about it, I could see it like I was there. Just you and me... and even our children... TK, I wanted it all to come true, I would have given anything..." Kari stopped, trying to hold back more tears from remembering it all. TK remembered telling Patamon something really similar just two nights ago, he didn't realize their dreams had been so close.  
  
"Kari, I wanted all that, too..." TK said. "...but I think I understand that some things are more important." In all honesty this was said out of hopes of beating Ragnadramon, without Kari dying in the process, of course.  
  
"I'm glad..." Kari said. "That's the only thing that kept me from saying yes... There's a billion other couples on this planet with the same hopes and dreams we have, some even stronger than us. If I had said yes and forgotten the quest, none of their dreams would come true. They'd be destroyed by the Cataclysm along with the Digital World if I don't do this. I just imagine so many people feeling the same pain I felt about it and I couldn't let them go through with it..." Suddenly TK felt like a heel... He hadn't thought about all of that, he was too concerned over just his own feelings of sorrow and depression from knowing his dream of life with Kari wouldn't come true, he didn't realize so many others had the same dreams, the same hopes for their lives, and TK had sold all of them out aligning himself with Ragnadramon just to save Kari... Kari had stopped shuddering and broke from TK's arms, turning around to look at him.  
  
"Let's just make the most of the time we still have, okay?" She said, a small smile crossing her face. "Let's get back to the others, they're probably wondering what happened to us." With that Kari walked passed him, opening her door and walking back out to the front room. TK turned to watch her leave, still taking in the ramifications of what he had done just last night. He didn't realize how many people he risked, not just their lives, but their hopes, dreams, ambitions, their very future that was supposed to be so happy with the ones they loved, and now he may have very well robbed all of them of that.  
  
"...What have I done..." TK whispered to himself, suddenly ashamed of himself and what he had done. Yes, it could still work out, they might still stop Ragnadramon, but it didn't change the fact that he had stolen the only sure-fire way of saving those hopes.  
  
**********  
  
A couple of hours later the entire group was in Kari's room, waiting for her computer to load up and activate the gate. It was an older system, a backup they kept for when Tai moved out, knowing he would take the new one, and they had yet to buy a new computer. At times it was annoying, but TK didn't mind right now, wanting this encounter with whatever Ragnadramon was planning to be delayed as long as possible.  
  
"It shouldn't be long now." Kari said, leaning over the desk as she worked the mouse of the computer. "Sometimes I think it would be faster to go to Tai's apartment and use the other computer." TK looked over at Gatomon, who looked a little impatient. Maybe she was eager to try out her Mega form gain, she didn't get to use it very much before.  
  
"We could always wait for a rainbow to pick ups up, that's how this all started." Patamon joked. Davis didn't seem to get the joke, though, with him and Veemon the only ones that hadn't gone to the Digital World via rainbow before.  
  
"You know, it might have been a bit early to plan out all our explanations and final moments." TK said, hoping to somehow subconsciously prepare them for whatever his actions had caused. "It could be days before we even get to the last temple, let alone how long it will take to find the Cataclysm." TK did have a point, maybe it would have been better to save all of the planning until after they had the fourth temple cleared. Kari shook her head, though, having a different idea.  
  
"It could take us days to get the fourth temple and find Cataclysm, then again it could be hours, too." She said, countering TK's idea. "This was the only for-sure chance we had, right?" Kari had him there, they didn't have to stop after getting the fourth piece of energy, they could be done before the day was over. In all honesty, TK had seen the map and it wasn't nearly long enough to take days to get to the temple.  
  
"Come on, TK, try not to think like that." Davis said. "We'll just get this over with and be done with it." Davis wasn't helping, though, the last thing TK wanted was for anything to go fast right now. It seemed like even Kari's computer picked up it's pace, now loading the gate to the Digital World. It wasn't long before it was ready and as soon as it was, Davis and Veemon jumped in, eager to get to the last area. The others just stood there for a while, a bit taken by Davis's attitude at this temple.  
  
"Well, at least he's motivated..." Gatomon said, jumping up to the computer's chair to get in range of the gate and Kari. She took hold of her Digimon, holding her Digivice out and letting the gate absorb her into the other world. That left Patamon and TK to enter next, TK still not wanting to continue.  
  
"Something wrong, TK?" Patamon asked, flapping up to his human partner. TK took hold of Patamon, somehow with a feeling he would need all the help from him that he could get.  
  
"Just some last minute regrets, that's all." TK said, trying to put it mildly. He withdrew his Digivice, looking down at it. A notion came to mind to just wipe the map off of it, forcing them to stop at least until they retrieved another, but he thought against it, not wanting Kari and Davis to think TK did anything to intentionally stop them. Unfortunately as he held out his D-3, letting the computer absorb him, he had a feeling it would come to that, anyway.  
  
End Chapter 14  
  
Next: Chapter 15 - Obstacles  
  
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	15. Obstacles

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 15 - Obstacles  
  
TK was becoming used to the odd feelings he received when he entered new zones of the Digital World. This was the final one, the southern area that Duchoumon protected. It felt the strangest of all, it was a bit harder to breathe and it felt like there was some kind of pressure on him. He looked around, discovering part of the reason. The entire terrain was covered in mountains and rocky valleys and the monitor they entered on seemed to be at the beginning of a path that winded around the largest mountain in the area. Luckily it looked like they were halfway up already, starting at the base would have taken longer than the highroad.  
  
"Remind me why we needed a map for a one way path?" Veemon said, looking up at the cliffs over their heads that the path eventually went through. "I doubt we could take a wrong turn." TK looked over to Kari, who was also looking up the mountain, most likely preparing herself for another long walk.  
  
"We can't see the temple without it, it's a security measure." Kari explained. "Besides, there may be tunnels farther up that do require a map." Davis seemed almost eager about the situation, as did Veemon, both looking up with a grin.  
  
"How about we just climb up the side?" Davis suggested. "Should be faster than running around." TK and Kari both shook their head at the same time, both against that idea. On his second thought, TK realized that might throw off Ragnadramon... But what was done was done, avoiding it might be even worse for them.  
  
"Let's just take the path, we might miss the temple going any other way." Gatomon said. From the sound of her voice it was as if she was in a hurry to get this over with now, like she knew it would have to happen and just wanted it to come sooner than later.  
  
"Right, there might be a tunnel or an obstacle we don't know about." Kari pointed out. She turned to TK, who was still looking out into the distance. "TK, let's check the map while we're here." Kari waited a moment for a reaction, only to get none, TK still lost in his own thoughts. "TK!" The sudden shout broke TK from his trance, turning to look at Kari finally.  
  
"Oh, sorry... Guess I dazed off for a second." TK said. He brought a hand up to his head, rubbing his head as if to get some of his daze out of it. Now that Kari had his attention, she noticed something odd about him... His eyes looked worried, almost nervous... It wasn't like him to be like this, even with the stakes so high.  
  
"TK, if something's wrong we can wait a while for you." Kari offered. TK should have known better than to try and hide anything from her, Kari knew him far too well not to notice when something was bothering him. The problem probably wasn't better to wait on, though, it might end up being worse for them if they did wait, angering Ragnadramon wouldn't be the best of ideas.  
  
"No, it's nothing." TK said, trying to be convincing. "Let's just get this done, I can take care of it then." Kari looked on, obviously worried about TK, but she didn't make an attempt to continue the point, knowing it wouldn't be successful.  
  
"If you say so..." Kari said reluctantly. "Let's see the map, TK, we need to know what's ahead of us." TK nodded, pulling out his Digivice and hitting the button that projected the map. He held it forward once it was displayed so everyone could see it.  
  
"Looks like Kari was right." Patamon said from TK's shoulder. The orange Digimon was quick to notice the path not only wound around the mountain, but also went through it a few times, meaning their were tunnels, but thankfully they looked short.  
  
"I wasn't up for climbing today, anyway." Gatomon said. "Though I wasn't ready for spelunking, either." TK put the D-3 away once everyone got a good look, knowing a one way path didn't need a map.  
  
"Hardly spelunking, they looked pretty short." Kari said. "It's still a long walk to the top, we should get going." The others agreed, including the reluctant TK, who hesitated before following after his friends up the path that lead them around the mountain.  
  
**********  
  
An hour passed and the group was getting tired already. Of course the length was nothing compared to the highroad to Azulongmon, but being uphill the entire way made it a lot harder on the group. Gatomon was already accepting a free ride from Kari, her small legs already worn out. Patamon seemed content to stay on TK's shoulder, but was now flying just ahead of him instead, staying out of the way of TK who seemed to be looking around constantly for some reason.  
  
"It's weird, I don't think I've seen a single normal Digimon the entire time I've been with you guys." Davis suddenly said. They had been in silence for a while now and the break was appreciated by most in their small band.  
  
"I think most of them stay away from the areas that the Guardians are in." Kari said. "As it is we feel strange just being close to them, imagine how other Digimon must feel." That for the most part was true, all three Digimon among them knowing how strange it felt to them just being so close, like the air around them was filled with the energy of the Guardians, constantly sending a strange charge through them.  
  
"That's one reason." Gatomon said from Kari's arms. "Azulongmon also said that most Digimon know how important this mission is and are keeping out of our way, even the normally evil ones wouldn't come close to us." Kari had almost forgotten that part. It had been a while since her original dream that started this quest and some of the details of it were lost when compared to the others.  
  
"Still it would be nice to see others, like a Drimogemon that could drill us up to the top faster." Veemon said. His own pace had slowed significantly and his usually powerful steps were getting sluggish. Davis would offer to carry him for a while but Veemon weighed too much to carry for long.  
  
"It's not as long as we think." Patamon said. "Every time we circle around the path ahead is shorter, it shouldn't be much farther." Kari knew this fact already. She was walking ahead right now, as tired as the rest but more driven to arrive at the temple. After another minute she saw the path suddenly end ahead, but there was also a large hole in the side of the wall.  
  
"Looks like we made it to the first tunnel." Kari said, coming to a stop in front of it. The rest soon joined her, looking into it. Indeed it was short, from here you could see the light at the other end easily. TK looked up, now able to see the peak high above. It wouldn't be much farther now, but he still wondered where Ragnadramon was. He looked back down, seeing Kari enter the tunnel, still carrying Gatomon, with Davis, Veemon, and Patamon now following. He took one last look above, then at the path behind him before entering.  
  
"At least the ground is level now, it's not so hard to walk anymore." Veemon said. Indeed it was easy to notice the difference, the ground was even flat, as if the hole was cut into the rock and flattened out on the bottom afterwards.  
  
"Enjoy it while it lasts, Veemon." Kari said. "The path gets just as hard as it was on the other side of this cave." Veemon had seemed to forget that part and was now frowning a bit. The group made it to the middle of the tunnel, now able to see both ends clearly. TK looked ahead at the other end of the tunnel, but what he saw caught him off guard. A blast came from the other end of the cave, hitting the ground in front of the group, sending dirt and bits of rock everywhere, forcing them to stop.  
  
"You are wrong, Child of Light..." A familiar, echoed voice said. At the other end of the tunnel, just outside of the exit, was Ragnadramon. The opening and path were too small for the large dragon, and as a result he was flying in the open air just to the side of the pathway. "The path ends here!" With that the dragon Digimon fired another blast, this one aimed at the roof above the opening. All at once the face of the mountain above the exit crumbled at the dragon Digimon unleashed his intense beam into it, causing massive rocks to fall into the tunnel, blocking it off, making him vanish from view. Ragnadramon wasn't done, closing his jaws that fired the beam, now breathing a blast of white hot flame at the rocks, melting them together into a solid wall.  
  
"There's no way up now..." Kari said, still stunned. TK knew it would probably be coming soon, he was just amazed the villain Digimon kept his end of the bargain. He turned to look at the entrance, but again met with a surprise. The rest turned to see SkullSatamon standing there, grinning, his sickle held at the ready. The devilish Digimon swung it upward, then hard into the areas above the entrance, again making rocks tumble down into the cave, blocking it off. It ended there, however, leaving them enough room between those rocks for air and light to get in, but enough to trap them there, as well.  
  
**********  
  
"Vee Laser!" ExVeemon fired the blast from the cross on his chest, blazing into the solid wall Ragnadramon formed. The dinosaur Digimon kept this up until he couldn't sustain the beam any longer, but to his dismay he had only made a slight x-shaped burn in the wall, nowhere near enough to destroy it. The cave was barely big enough to fit him, but he was the only Digimon among them with the brute force to possibly break the rock.  
  
"Nice try, ExVeemon, but it looks like it's not going to give out anytime soon." Davis said. ExVeemon didn't seem to agree, however, now walking up to the wall and physically trying to push it back and out of their way. Again it was too solid, not only being melted together but also to the rock under it.  
  
On the other side of the tunnel TK stood in front of the pile of rocks that kept them from even turning around, trying his best to find any loose rocks or openings big enough to get through. Unfortunately he found none, despite how it looked SkullSatamon must have made sure to pack the rocks together so not even Patamon could leave. This wasn't the agreement he made, they were supposed to be unharmed and at this rate they would starve to death. Meanwhile Kari was sitting down close to the entrance, with Gatomon on one side and Patamon on the other.  
  
"Well at least we get to rest..." Gatomon said, trying to lighten the mood. Kari had a serious look on her face that didn't seem to waiver, though, ending Gatomon's attempt. The group remained silent, no sound coming from the cave except for the sounds of ExVeemon now trying to cut through the rock with the blade on his head.  
  
"It could always be worse." Patamon said, trying to save a level of moral among the group. "At least they left the other side open enough to let air in." TK continued to look at the other side of the cave, the entrance where they entered. He wasn't sure what Ragnadramon was going to do, but now that it had happened he had to give the villain credit, the only direction they could go in now was back. Though he still had a bit of uncertainty, Ragnadramon said his plan would stop Kari even if they reached the temple. How could this have been Ragnadramon's plan if they were still on the way there?  
  
"…So let's use that!" Davis said suddenly. "Why not bust through the other side? There's no chance of getting through this end, anyway." ExVeemon agreed simply by falling backwards onto his back, head throbbing from so many failed attempts. The wall of melted rock barely had a few scratches in it from his blade, otherwise it was undamaged.  
  
"Because it only leads back down the mountain." TK said, now turning toward the others. "This was the only path to the top and now it's a dead end." Kari now turned to look at the other end, for the first time considering giving up. It would be so much simpler and her friends and family would be happy… But it wasn't in her nature to turn her back on so many, what she wanted didn't matter if so many could live on. She stood up, taking a few steps away from the pile of rubble that blocked the entrance to the cave.  
  
"ExVeemon, blast the entrance open…" Kari said, her voice in almost a commanding tone that seemed to take everyone by surprise. ExVeemon picked himself off the ground, turning around to face her.  
  
"You can't tell me you're giving up!" ExVeemon said. "Go home if you want, I'm going to the temple!" The dinosaur Digimon turned to the sealed exit and readied himself to fire again.  
  
"So am I." Kari said, her voice more firm than before, making ExVeemon stop and look back at her again. "Blast the entrance open." TK looked on at Kari, seeing her determination in her eyes again. ExVeemon didn't respond this time, stepping forward passed Davis and then the others until he was the one closest to the pile of debris.  
  
"Vee Laser!" ExVeemon unleashed his attack again. Unlike the rock that sealed the exit closed, these rocks weren't melted together and were easily blasted free by the burst of energy, light entering the cave as the rocks blew into the distance and off the mountain.  
  
"Now what?" Davis asked, walking up to the front to join the others. "We go home and come up with a new plan, right?" Kari shook her head, stepping out of the cave. She turned around and looked up toward the summit, gauging the distance.  
  
"No, we start climbing." Kari said. "The plan was to get to the top, right? Why go back to rethink something so simple?" TK now joined Kari in looking up at the side of the mountain. It was still a long way up, but probably still climbable. TK looked back down at the others, who were all obviously a lot more skeptical.  
  
"...you can't be serious." Davis said, a flat tone of disbelief in his voice. Kari glanced at him, the same determined look in her eyes. Davis had wanted to comment further but Kari's stare had silenced him.  
  
"I'm serious, Davis." She said. "There's no other way and no time to think of something else." Kari turned her glance toward Patamon, Gatomon, and the now reverted Veemon. "We'll carry you three up, we can't afford you getting tired by climbing or by staying digivolved too long. Ragnadramon and his doppelgangers might still be around." All three Digimon stood stunned for a moment before nodding, the three moving to their respective Digidestined partners and climbing onto their backs. TK couldn't help but be impressed, Kari usually never took charge like this but she was handling it like it was second nature.  
  
"Kari, you start first." TK said. "If you lose your grip me or Davis will be able to catch you." Kari turned her head toward TK, giving him a slight smile as she stepped over to the rock face beside the cave entrance, taking a moment to find a good hand hold. Once she did she pulled herself up, planting her foot into the rough rock surface, pushing herself up to the next hand hold. Once high enough, TK and Davis started up, climbing almost side by side with Patamon and Veemon clinging onto their backs.  
  
**********  
  
A half hour later the small band was starting to feel the exhaustion of the climb set in. For TK it wasn't so bad, playing so much basketball kept everything needed for climbing in shape. Davis had a worse time, his soccer playing rarely had a use for hands and his fingers were now burning from gripping the rock surface. Kari had it worse, however, and had already slowed her pace several times to compensate, stopping completely from time to time. Her arms were sore from bicep to fingers and the strain on her knees was setting in, making the climb torturous.  
  
"Guys, I'm sorry I ever wanted to do this all the way up the mountain..." Davis said, remembering his earlier idea to shortcut the path by climbing.  
  
"Forget it, just keep going." TK said, glancing over at him. "We can't be that much further from the top." He looked up to check this statement, only to find it was said too quickly. The summit still wasn't in view and now their starting point wasn't, either. Looking up brought his eyes to Kari, who had stopped again to rest.  
  
"Kari, how are you doing?" TK asked to the girl above him. In the silence TK could hear Kari's deep breathes as she caught her breath, but no answer came. "Kari! Are you okay up there?" Kari snapped back to attention, turning her head as best she could, though not enough to see TK under her.  
  
"Yeah, just letting my fingers rest." She said. "I'm fine, let's keep going." With that Kari continued up, taking her next hand hold. Gatomon looked down at TK and Davis continuing the climb up, then back toward Kari. Hanging onto Kari's back she could feel her still breathing deeper, still trying to catch her breath even as she kept climbing.  
  
"You never could lie..." Gatomon whispered. "It's not too late to go back down, we can just find an easier way." Kari shook her head in response, continuing her ascent.  
  
"This is the only way, it doesn't matter how hard it is." Kari replied in whispers. "We'll get there, just..." Kari stopped when her ears caught something behind her, getting louder. She tightened her grip to look back, just in time to see a red beam heading toward her. Kari ducked down just enough to avoid the attack, letting it blast the rock just above her head, throwing dust and pebbles out of the rock face. This caught TK and Davis's attentions, as well, making them look back to see their attacker, LadyDevimon. She was quickly joined by SkullSatamon, who had an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Miserable humans can't take a hint!" SkullSatamon snarled. "Couldn't you have stayed in your cave and died like good little fleshlings?!" He was about to approach when LadyDevimon raised a claw, stopping his advance.  
  
"Now now, why so upset?" She said, a sinister tone in her voice. "It's so much better to watch them die instead!" With that she lashed out with her attack again, the red whip of energy shooting forth. The others could only watch on, unable to react on such short notice. The rock Kari held was torn away from the mountain, falling away and causing Kari to fall as well. TK watched in horror as she fell, reaching out of her out of instinct. The blast had thrown her too far away, however, his hand missing it's mark. TK could only watch on as her hand missed his, her fall continuing, but suddenly stopping. He looked up to see Davis gripping onto Kari's wrist. Kari's fall suddenly stopped, jerking her, Gatomon, and Davis hard. Davis struggled to hold on to both the rock and Kari, but Gatomon's grip had failed, throwing her away from Kari.  
  
"Gatomon!!" Patamon said, leaping off of TK, an instinctive reaction. Gatomon was falling fast and it was all Patamon could do to keep the same speed, not gaining any room but not losing any, either. "Patamon digivolve to..." Patamon began his digivolution out of instinct, the transformation barely lasting a moment. "Angemon!" Now in Champion form, Angemon put all six of his wings flat against his back, diving down rapidly, his heavier weight letting him fall faster. He reached out with both arms, still a few feet from Gatomon, who was still tumbling from her fall, too disoriented to digivolve herself. It was another moment before Angemon had caught up to her, grabbing her with both arms. He opened all six wings again, slowing his descent until he was floating under his own power, holding Gatomon in his arms. The feline Digimon looked up at him, just now opening her eyes, still a little dazed.  
  
"...I would have landed on my feet." Gatomon said. Angemon couldn't help but smirk, even in danger Gatomon didn't change.  
  
"You fall off a mountain and you joke?" Angemon asked. "You scared me to death, what if you kept falling?" Gatomon shrugged slightly, smiling back at him.  
  
"I knew you were there, I wasn't worried." She replied. Angemon smiled again before looking up, returning attention to the two Digimon that attacked. They were farther down that he had expected, passed the cave this whole thing started at, but even once they got back to the others he wasn't sure what he would do...  
  
**********  
  
TK was now beside Davis, holding on to Kari's other hand while Davis clung to her right hand he originally grabbed. Veemon still hung from his back, watching helplessly at the scene around him. LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon were now hovering very close, almost in a mocking manner.  
  
"Veemon, I thought you had wings when you Digivovled!" Davis said, trying to think of any options they still had available. "Get off my back and get in the air!" Veemon shook his head, though Davis couldn't see it from his perspective.  
  
"They're not much good, I can't fly with them!" Veemon answered. The blue Digimon turned his head to look at the two Ultimate Digimon behind them, still hovering around menacingly. SkullSatamon then started to fly in slowly, almost methodically. He twirled his sickle around as he did, grinning.  
  
"Well it's been fun, but I'm sick of waiting." The Digimon said. He turned his sickle around, aiming the butt of it at the hand Davis held Kari's wrist. He stabbed forward, hitting Davis's hand hard. Davis shouted in pain as his grip buckled, letting go of Kari's hand. He quickly tried to regain it only to miss slightly. TK grunted as all of Kari's weight was shifted onto him, her exhausted form swinging slightly.  
  
"Kari, you have to grab the rock!" TK said, an obvious strain to his voice. His hand holding the rock face wasn't going to last long, it was too much weight by himself.  
  
"...I can't..." Kari said weakly. "Too tired..." TK took note of Kari as she said this, she wasn't moving under her own power at all, she must have been more exhausted from the climb than she let on.  
  
"Well now that's too bad, isn't it?" SkullSatamon said. "Then this should be all the more painful to watch..." He reaimed the end of his sickle's handle toward the hand TK held Kari with and struck forward, hitting it hard. TK winced in pain, but refused to let go, holding onto Kari tighter. SkullSatamon glared at the boy's hand and struck again, only to receive similar results.  
  
"Stubborn human brat..." LadyDevimon said. She smirked and floated upwards, toward the hand TK held the mountain side with. "But if the hands won't give way, the rock will." With that LadyDevimon floated over and placed a foot on TK's fingers, pressing down. The human boy couldn't help but yell in pain, but still refused to let go and allow Kari to drop. It was only a moment of this before the choice was taken from him as the rock ledge he held began cracking until the point where it broke away, both TK and Kari beginning to fall from the mountain. TK closed his eyes as the fall began, mentally cursing himself for failing to protect Kari, but as soon as he did he felt a sudden hard jerk and a change of direction, from down to up. He couldn't feel Kari's hand anymore, making him panic. TK opened his eyes and looked around, seeing Kari to his side and Angewomon between them, holding them in her arms. Looking passed Kari, TK could see Davis and Veemon being carried upward by Angemon, both looking panicked from the sudden occurrence.  
  
"Wasn't that just a little dramatic?" TK said, just now taking in everything. "Not that I'm complaining..." Angewomon didn't answer, she seemed to be focused on going as fast as she could. TK looked down, seeing SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon giving chase. He then looked up, watching the mountain's remaining length blur by as they picked up speed. The two angel Digimon were fast in the air and soon had much more distance between themselves and the two devil Digimon. It was a few more minutes before their neared the top, immediately turning into the mountain once they were. TK looked down at it, seeing about what he expected. A vine-covered temple on one edge of the plateau with a symbol of a bird carved in over the entrance and a path leading from the mountain side opposite of the building. The angel Digimon dive toward the temple, landing beside it and turning around, waiting for their pursuers to catch up. TK watched as LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon appeared over the edge of the plateau, looking around as they did. After a few moments of sitting quietly the two stopped looking, turning and heading back down the mountain and away from them. A moment after they left Angemon and Angewomon put the group down, dedigivolving back to normal once their job was done.  
  
"That was too close..." Patamon said, falling down on his rear end to rest. He looked over at Gatomon, smiling at her. "That was a good idea, using the temple's protective cloak to hide us." Gatomon smiled back, then looked over at Kari, now resting in TK's arms.  
  
"Is she alright?" Gatomon asked, worried about her human partner. TK nodded, holding her a bit tighter. His hands still stung from being hit and stepped on so much, but it was easy enough to ignore with Kari safe.  
  
"Yeah, just tired." He replied. "She should have told us the climb was that hard on her..." Even as TK spoke, something in the back of his mind wouldn't leave him alone. He couldn't help but wonder what really just happened. BlackGatomon and Tsukaimon saw the map, as well, that was the only requirement for seeing passed the temple's illusionary disguise. So how did they not see them? They were in plain view, but it seemed like the cloak hid them. Maybe TK didn't understand all the forces behind this, but he couldn't help but worry that something had gone wrong...  
  
End Chapter 15  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 16 - Peril  
  
Special Note: I'm baaaaaack! I hope nobody forgot me, but even if you did, I promise you will remember soon! This saga is back on track and the writing juices flow like a river now! I've learned a lot in this hiatus of mine and in addition to the next 11 chapters of this saga, expect another multi-chapter story to make any Takari follower proud to keep the faith.  
  
Want to know when a new chapter is posted? Use this link to sign up for my mailing list to know when new chapters and stories are up!  
  
http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html 


	16. Peril

Till The End Of All  
By CyberDracomon  
  
Chapter 16 - Peril  
  
An hour passed before the group was confident that Ragnadramon's minions had left. They were still close to the temple, well within it's protective cloak's range, resting from the hard climb. As it was the long walk uphill wore them out but the climbing drained so much from them that nobody was in any hurry to move. Davis was up and about, the most athletic of the group, as were the Digimon that had easier times, either by flight or being carried. Kari was still at rest, in a light sleep, her head laying on TK's lap as he sat behind her. He was tired, as well, but his concern for Kari made it easy to ignore.   
  
"...Something just hit me." Davis said, looking over at TK. "When we were in that cave, Ragnadramon had an easy shot at us, we couldn't have gotten clear if his blast filled the cave... Why just trap us?" TK felt his heart skip a beat, just now realizing that himself. It was a detail he hadn't thought about, he told Ragnadramon to stop them without killing them but he neglected to think of how that sudden strategy change would make sense. Gatomon, Patamon, and Veemon now glanced at TK, without answers of their own they turned to him to find the logical reason. He felt a slight chill through his spine as their stares met his eyes, no answer immediately coming to mind.  
  
"...He's an evil Digimon, he probably didn't have reason for it." TK said after a minute. "Maybe he wanted us to die slowly in there instead of finishing us off fast." That seemed to satisfy Davis and Veemon, both looking away, looking at the view from the summit. Patamon and Gatomon looked at each other, however, maybe a little more skeptical, but not arguing the point any further. TK was hoping that question wouldn't come up, with Ragnadramon's attempt failing he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. It wasn't like he could just say why Ragnadramon didn't try to finish them off, even with the reasons he had nobody would forgive him, especially Kari.  
  
A slight moan came from below TK suddenly. He looked down at Kari, who was now starting to stir, her eyes slightly opened now. The others caught this and stepped over, with Davis kneeling down near her.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Gatomon asked, the closest to her besides TK. She sat up, now opening her eyes completely. She looked over at Gatomon, smiling faintly.  
  
"As long as we're done climbing I'll be fine." She said, drawing a small giggle from Gatomon. Kari stood, slowly at first, with TK and Davis standing up just after her. "Are we in the clear?" Davis nodded to her, somewhat proud of the fact.  
  
"Yeah, we're in the barrier of the temple, they can't see us even if they did come back." TK explained. Kari took a few steps away from the temple, her legs still a little sore from the hard climb, looking out over the edge of the summit. It was a sight to behold as mountains stretched out in every direction, every shape and size all within one view. She found it hard to breathe now that she thought of it, because of the height of the mountain they were on the air was much thinner. It was probably why their climb was so hard and why she still wasn't feeling as well as she should.  
  
"Kari, maybe you should take it easy..." Patamon said, looking on with concern. "You were really worn out when we got you up here and that couldn't have been more than an hour ago." Kari hadn't realized so little time passed since she blacked out. As far as she knew it could have been a day since their climb.  
  
"Maybe..." She said. "Taking a Guardian's energy does wear me out easily even when I'm not tired... But we can't wait long, either, Ragnadramon's minions were desperate to stop us this time, we need to get the energy as soon as we can." TK couldn't help but worry about how much this is might hurt Kari, he had seen her after taking a Guardian's energy and she always looked dead tired afterwards, as it was she didn't look good.  
  
"...We'll wait as long as it takes." TK said suddenly, drawing the attention of the others. "We're here, right? Ragnadramon can't find the temple, his attempt to stop us already failed. We can wait as long as it takes for you to feel well again, Kari, we can't risk that taking the energy while your tired won't hurt you." Kari wished she could argue against TK, but he had a stern look in his eyes, one she knew she couldn't argue against. She kneeled down, then shifted her legs to sit down on the edge of the plateau to wait. Knowing TK it would be hours before he was sure that she was rested enough, meaning she was in for a long, impatient wait.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile in a dimension of the Digiworld unknown to most, two dark-colored Digimon walked side by side across an almost unseen floor, the only visible area being in their immediate area where the ground was slightly illuminated. The rest of the area was pitch black, an empty void in every direction except down. The two were BlackGatomon and Tsukaimon, both walking quickly and with agitated looks on their faces. Eventually their walk brought them to Ragnadramon, who had his back to the two small Digimon.  
  
"Okay, time for an explanation!" BlackGatomon shouted. "We had those humans cornered twice and both times you called us off!" Ragnadramon slowly turned to face them, his massive reptilian form an overwhelming sight. His eyes glowed, already glaring.  
  
"...You dare question my orders, BlackGatomon?" He said, his echoing voice booming slightly. The black cat Digimon didn't back down, any fear having been removed from her.  
  
"We don't question them, we just don't get why you told us to pass up perfect opportunities!" Tsukaimon said. "First was the cave, one side sealed off and me on the other, and all you wanted was a cave-in? It would have been easy just to fire Nail Bones into the cave, they would have been helpless!" BlackGatomon glanced at Tsukaimon, somewhat surprised the small Digimon stood up to their master so well. Her glare returned to the dragon Digimon, the question half finished.  
  
"Then at the summit..." BlackGatomon continued. "We saw the map at the same time you did, we saw them and the temple just fine! They thought they were safe, they would have been off guard!" Ragnadramon suddenly roared fiercely, making both his minions take a few steps back. When the roar ended Ragnadramon glared down at them, eyes burning brightly.  
  
"The Cataclysm spawned you to follow my orders without question, it is for that reason alone you exist." He said sternly. "If I did not need you for the coming battle, I would crush you for questioning me..." With that the dragon turned back around, his attention returning to whatever he was doing when they arrived. BlackGatomon and Tsukaimon glanced at each other before stepping forward again.  
  
"I'm sorry, my master, but we just wanted to know..." BlackGatomon said, now much more quiet than before. Ragnadramon turned his head just enough to look at them again over his shoulder, then turned back again.  
  
"Come, observe." He said simply. Tsukaimon hesitantly took flight, flying upwards toward Ragnadramon's left shoulder, finding a seat there. BlackGatomon followed, climbing up Ragnadramon's tail and then his back, using the scales for traction. Once both were seated, they looked down into what looked like the summit with the temple, viewed through a break in dimension Ragnadramon could create. However, the image was dark, lacking much of it's color, like they were looking through the dark dimension.  
  
"This way we can observe them without them seeing us." The dragon explained. The view from the hole changed, now looking specifically at Kari, still looking tired. "You see, my minions, we are at war with this girl... and no fool ever won a war by brute force alone. War is won by the smartest side, thus we will defeat her and her companions through strategy. And to answer your question, we took no easy chances because war is always better won when one side begins to fall under it's own mistakes... We will toy with them, break them down, and when they have suffered as much as possible... crush them." The two cloned Digimon wasn't sure what he meant by that, but they were intrigued, now looking on through the hole in reality with renewed interest.  
  
**********  
  
Three hours had passed and the sun was just starting to set in the Digital World, which was a spectacular view from the mountain peek. The band of Digidestined and Digimon were now all at the edge, looking out over the northern region of the Digital World as the setting sun's light almost shined off all of the mountain peeks around them and the lower clouds that were so close to them.  
  
"TK, we can't put it off any longer..." Kari said, taking a second to stand back up. "I feel fine, I'm ready." TK dreaded this now. In such a scenery he had hoped he would have more time to just enjoy it with Kari, but given the situation she was too determined to finish their mission here.  
  
"...alright, Kari." TK said, finally relenting. "Collect Duchoumon's energy, we'll return home then." Kari nodded to TK, turning and starting her walk to the temple. Gatomon glanced toward Patamon, who nodded, signaling her to follow. The feline Digimon stood and followed after Kari, both entering the temple and leaving the males of their group to themselves.  
  
With the girls gone Veemon stood and walked away from Davis, who was caught up in the view of the red mountains below. Veemon turned and looked at Patamon, who was looking backwards now, and indicated for him to follow, again turning and walking off. Patamon looked on, wondering what he wanted before taking to the air to follow after him. Veemon stopped at the opposite edge of the plateau, close to the temple, with Patamon landing just behind him, walking over to stand a few feet to his side.  
  
"You're usually not the one to talk in private, what's up?" The orange Digimon asked curiously. Veemon glanced over at him, an expression as serious as Patamon had ever seen on him. The glance didn't last long as he turned to look out over the edge.  
  
"I know, but this is kind of personal." Veemon admitted, further confusing Patamon. "...what is it like to be in love?" The smaller Digimon was taken back a little by the question, it wasn't like Veemon at all.  
  
"I thought we went over that a while ago." Patamon said. "You said yourself you had a crush on Gatomon." Veemon shook his head at Patamon's misunderstanding.  
  
"Exactly, a crush, nothing more." Veemon explained. "I've seen you two, what you two have I don't think I could have ever had. At least not with Gatomon. Like when we were all at Kari's place making plans and Kari said Gatomon was in danger of dying when she did. I saw your reaction, the look in your eyes... That's emotion I couldn't have had, not at that level." Patamon wasn't sure what to say, or if he could even take in everything Veemon just told him. He didn't realize his friend could have such depth to him.  
  
"Well I don't think you're incapable of it." Patamon said. "You just don't have the chance to find the right girl. Remember most of the time we were going around the Digital World Gatomon was the only female Digimon around and it's not like you have much time to look following Davis around." Veemon agreed that was true at least, thought he still doubted it somewhat.  
  
"Maybe, but there's other limitations." The blue Digimon continued. "Like how only a few Digimon are even capable of love, it's so rare what are the chances I'm one of them?" Now Patamon was the one shaking his head, dispelling that idea from his own mind.  
  
"I don't think that's true at all." He said. "The Digital World is so vast and there's so many Digimon around I think most just don't get the chance to find another Digimon they can have that connection with. After experiencing it for myself, I'm positive nothing is incapable of it." Veemon smiled, reassured by his friend's words.  
  
"Alright, but you still haven't answered me." Veemon said. "What's it like? I mean I know what a crush feels like, but what about real love?" Again Patamon found himself at a loss for words, finding it hard to find ones that described it all.  
  
"Well, it's like..." Patamon said, forced to stop as the words failed to come. "It's like... well, I don't know, it's so hard to describe... I mean when you're with someone you love, you get this feeling in you that makes you happy and makes everything else seem unimportant. It's like you have a connection to someone that's so strong you feel like they're as attached to you as an arm or a leg. But it's so much more, I just... I don't have the words for it all." Veemon was finding this hard to imagine, was it possible to be that connected with someone?  
  
"Let me know if you ever find the right words, I really want to know for myself." Veemon admitted. Patamon nodded at him, then turned to look back out over the area, taking in the scenery. He thought about it more, still unable to come up with any combination of words that described it well enough. Maybe it was something you couldn't describe and had to experience, but he wanted Veemon to know somehow. Maybe he just had to look hard enough...  
  
**********  
  
A half hour of silenced passed, no sign of Kari emerging from the temple and not a word passed between Davis and TK. Neither thought it would take this long and didn't bother starting conversation, but as the time got on and the boredom grew, it was inevitable.  
  
"TK, I don't mean to complain..." Davis started, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. He had been thinking about TK's change of attitude since they began their trip today and couldn't shake this bad feeling he had about it. "...Did something change the other day that I'm not aware of? You've gone this whole time up the mountain without trying to get Kari to stop and find another way to do this, I thought on the last leg of the trip you would be the most determined." TK knew either Davis or Kari would get to this question eventually, he had been thinking about how to respond to it for a while now, since he first joined Kari and Davis today. Before he did it with the security that his pact with Ragnadramon that would keep Kari from dying, but with his attempt failing, he was back to worrying about her fate. Any excuse he had now was a lie, but what else could he say to explain?  
  
"...it's hard to explain." TK said after a moment of silence, stalling. "...Before all of this I was just thinking of myself and how I would feel over this, I wasn't thinking of everyone who was going to be saved from this mission's outcome. Remember this morning when Kari pulled me into her room? She explained why she was doing this, all the people and Digimon this was saving... It kind of brought things into perspective." At least that answer was honest, she did make him realize the magnitude of their quest and it really was a reason to no longer question it.  
  
"I was wondering what that was about..." Davis said, referring to why Kari wanted to talk to TK alone. "It sounds like how she got me to agree to this..." TK looked over at Davis, his curiosity now raised. After how long it took him to accept this fate Kari had agreed to, he never thought about how Davis was convinced. "She sent me an e-mail to explain everything. She explained the whole situation, and then the quest, then why she was doing it... By the time she got around to telling me it would cost her life it wasn't nearly as much of a shock as it probably was for you. In fact the way she explained it, even before she said she would die, I was expecting it." TK listened with interest as Davis explained. It did sound like Kari, the way she would explain such a situation, putting the importance first and herself last. The more he thought about it, the more sides he found until one eventually drew a chuckle out of him, surprising Davis.  
  
"Now you're laughing?" Davis said in mild confusion, looking over at his friend. TK smirked, his chucking ended.  
  
"It just seems kind of odd." TK said. "How many other girls to you think there are that can talk two different guys into risking their lives to help her on a suicide mission?" Davis had a blank look on his face for a second before smiling and chuckling himself.  
  
"No kidding." He said, agreeing. "And since we're both dashing young heroes of this story, I'll have to try extra hard to get the girl before it's over." TK shot Davis a stern glare from the comment, making Davis cower back a little. TK kept the glare for a few seconds before his stern look faded, giving way to a laugh. Davis's look fell the same way, with both now laughing out loud. It was nice finding a way to be jovial during such a hard time that should be filled with despair. Since starting this quest TK didn't think he had a good laugh, it was certainly needed by now.  
  
"Guys! Come quick!" A yell behind them said. The laughter died down as both Davis and TK looked over their shoulders to see Gatomon, who was now over by Patamon and Veemon. It was too far to hear what she was telling them, but once she was done and had turned to them, the two Digimon were already running toward the temple entrance. TK and Davis both stood, watching Gatomon as she came close.  
  
"Guys, something's wrong in the temple, come quick!" Gatomon said. She was obviously in a hurry as she didn't stick around to explain. The two teens glanced at each other, both seeing the worry in the others face, before following after Gatomon, running their fastest to keep up with her feline pace.  
  
**********  
  
TK and Davis were quick to arrive in the inner chamber of the temple. It appeared just like the other ones, a large dome room with moss on some of the walls from the age and many cracks in the stones that made up the room. The stone had a red hue to it, probably from being so close to the phoenix Digimon Duchoumon for so long. In the center stood Kari, in front of the altar that was in the middle of the circular room, her Digivice already placed in the altar to receive the last share of energy.  
  
"Kari, what's wrong?" TK asked with concern. She looked okay from what he could see and there wasn't anything but them in the room. She turned around, a confused and worried expression on her face.  
  
"It's Duchoumon." She responded. "I've been waiting here since I first entered the temple, my D-3 has been sitting there since and nothing... He should have appeared a long time ago." TK looked over at the altar that the D-3 rested on, then up at the ceiling. The stone spire that pointed from the roof toward the altar was fine, everything looked like it was okay. But if nothing was broken, what was the problem?  
  
"Well Duchoumon is supposed to be the strongest guardian..." Patamon said, who was also looking around. "Maybe there's some rules or limitations we don't know about..." Kari looked down at Patamon, a doubtful look in her eyes.  
  
"I'm sure one of the other guardians would have warned us..." She replied. "I just have this really bad feeling something is wrong... Maybe it's too late, what if the Cataclysm's already beginning?" TK stepped up behind Kari, putting both arms around her waist to comfort her.  
  
"You're worrying too much, if that was true they wouldn't have bothered to try to stop us." TK said, trying to reassure her. Kari put both hands on TK's which were at the middle of her waist.  
  
"I hope you're right..." She said. "I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all." TK gave the room another quick glance, again finding nothing that could be damaged. Maybe it was something outside, but at the top of a mountain what could happen to it?  
  
"Well there's one advantage now." Davis said, finished with his own inspection. "We've got the use of the monitor outside, right? We won't have to climb back up, we can just leave, hit another temple to ask a guardian what's wrong, then come back and fix it." The rest of the group turned their eyes to Davis, honestly surprised at the good idea.  
  
"That's an idea." TK said. "You see, Kari? We can find out what went wrong in no time and stop worrying about it." Kari thought about it for a second before smiling.  
  
"Alright, let's go." She said, her fear subsiding. "We can go back to visit Ebonwumon,   
he should know whatever the problem is." Kari lifted a hand to the altar, picking up her D-3 and replacing it in her pocket. TK released his embrace as Kari turned around, again lightly smiling. He was glad to see that smile again, so close to the end he was afraid he wouldn't get to see it again. TK turned to see Veemon and Davis were heading out already and Patamon and Gatomon by the exit waiting for them. TK took Kari's hand as the two walked out, their Digimon following close behind.  
  
As they approached the exit, the group saw Davis and Veemon standing outside, their backs to the exit, both looking up. Nobody was sure what the two were doing until they also emerged from the temple, with a full view of what was above them. Floating above was Ragnadramon, glaring down directly at them. His minions Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon rode on his shoulders, both also watching. This had no question to it, they could see them, the temple's cloak was no longer a factor. TK immediately felt a sense of dread as he looked up at the dragon Digimon, who glared back down, a sinister smirk on his reptilian face. The blonde haired teen doubted this encounter would end as peacefully as their previous one.  
  
End Chapter 16  
  
Coming Next: Chapter 17 - Questions  
  
Special Note: Here I would normally put a URL that would direct you to a mailing list that would notify you when a new chapter of this story was posted or if I posted a new story. Unfortunately it appears that since posting Chapter 15, Fanfiction.Net has changed their system to filter out URLs. So instead I have put the link in my Author Profile, you can get there by clicking my pen name at the top of the page. From now on you'll only see a reminder here. 


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